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26th Congress, [SENATE.] f 237 "I 
 
 2d Session. ^ -* 
 
 REPORT 
 
 INTENDED TO ILLUSTRATE 
 
 A MAP OF THE HYDROGRAPHICAL BASIN 
 
 UP 
 
 PER MISSISSIPPI RIVER, 
 
 ^ . I. N. NICOLLET, 
 
 WHILE IN EMPLOY UNDER THE BUREAU OF THE CORPS OF TOPOGR.'^PHICAL ENGLNEERS. 
 
 February 16, 184L 
 
 Ordered to be printed, and that 200 additional copies be printed for the Topographical Bureau, 
 and 300 additional copies for the use of the Senate. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 BLAIR AND RIVES, PRINTERS. 
 
 1843. 
 

INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I trust 1 may be permitted, by way of introdQction, to premise a few 
 words as regards the origin of the map which this report is intended to 
 illustrate, as well as of my connexion with the later expedition that served 
 to complete it. 
 
 Having come to this country for the purpose of making a scientific tour, 
 and with the view of contributing to the progressive increase of knowledge 
 in the physical geography of North America, I determined, after having ex- 
 plored the Alleghany range in its various extensions through the southern 
 States, and having ascended the Red river, Arkansas river, and to a great 
 distance the Missouri river, to undertake the full exploration of the Missis- 
 sippi river from its mouth to its very sources. During the five years that 
 I was engaged in these excursions, I took occasion to make numerous ob- 
 servations, calculated to lay the foundation of the astronomical and physical 
 geography of a large extent of country, and more especially of the great 
 and interesting region between the falls of St. Anthony and the sources of 
 the Mississippi. With these labors I connected, also, the study of the cus- 
 toms, habits, manners, and languages of the several Indian nations that oc- 
 cupy this vast region of country. 
 
 At the expiration of this long (and. as 1 found it, arduous) journey, 1 re- 
 turned to Baltimore, among my good friends of St. Mary's College, where 
 I soon received a flattering invitation from the War Department and Topo- 
 graphical Bureau to repair to Washington. Theresultsof my travels were 
 made known to these departments ; upon which they thought proper to 
 intrust me with the command of an expedition, to enable me to completBj 
 to the greatest advantage, a scheme which I had already projected on my 
 first visit to the Far West — namely, the construction of a geographical and 
 topographical map of the country explored. 
 
 To be more explicit, I subjoin a copy of the instructions transmitted to 
 me : 
 
 Bureau of Topographical Engineers, 
 
 WasMnglon, April 7, 1838. 
 Sir: I am aulhorized by the honorable Secretary of War to inform you that you will be ea»- 
 
 Sloycd lo collect additional materials for the map now in hand, of those parts of the United 
 Itates, and their territories, which lie west of the Mississippi. 
 
[ 237 J 4 
 
 As the views of ihe Secretary have been fully explained to you in the frequent conversations 
 you have had with hitn on the subject; and as the utmost confidence is reposed in your abilities 
 and industry, further instructions are considered unnecessary. 
 
 ****** 
 
 Mr. Fremont will be assigned to you as an assistant. 
 
 A copy of your map of the sources of the Mississippi and adjacent regions will be furnished 
 to you ; and .'-hould ihe government, in the end, publish the results which you have collected, 
 and are about colleciins:, in the form of a map, which is contemplated at present, proper credit 
 will be given to your labors, and you will be allowed the use of the plates, free of charge, for 
 the work you have in contemplation, of the Physical History of the Valley of the Mississippi, 
 
 Very respectfully, &c., 
 
 J. J. ABERT, 
 Lieutenant Colonel Topographical Engineers, 
 
 On my return from this expedition, I set about, with the assistance of 
 Lieutenant Fremont and that of Lieutenant Scammond, (of the corps of 
 topographical engineers,) constructing the map ; the skeleton of which, 
 liaving been examined by many members of Congress, and its general plan 
 approved of, the Senate of the United States ordered it to be published when 
 finished, under the direction of the Topographical Bureau. 
 
 I feel much indebted to Colonel Abert, now chief of the corps of topo- 
 graphical engineers, for the assiduous attention he has paid to the accu- 
 rate representation by the engraver of the geographical delineations of the 
 map, such as they now appear, and which this report is intended more- 
 fully to explain. 
 
 The plan which 1 have adopted for the textual explanation of the map,, 
 is the following : 
 
 \. To give a succinct account of the physical geography of the country 
 embraced within the limits of the map, including a narrative of the move- 
 ments of the expedition under my command, during the years of 1838 and 
 1839 ; and also an account of my visit to the sources of the Mississippi in 
 1836. 
 
 2. An abstract of the principles and methods by which I have been 
 governed in making my observations, both for astronomical and physical 
 geography. 
 
 These two subjects naturally divide the report into two parts ; and i 
 have added to it three appendices. 
 
 Appendix A presents a tabular view of the geographical positions which 
 have guided me in the construction of the map. 
 
 Appendix B is a catalogue of plants, for which 1 am indebted to that 
 eminent botanist. Dr. James Torrey, to whom I was proud of an oppor- 
 tunity — brought about by the liberal and disinterested intercourse whicit 
 characterizes American savatis, but perhaps more especially the gentleman 
 whom I have now the honor to name — of submitting my collection. The 
 catalogue has been arranged in accordance with the system adopted in the 
 publication of the American Flora, by Drs. Torrey and Grey. 
 
5 [237] 
 
 In order to obtain this collection, I engaged, at my own expense, the ser- 
 vices of a practical botanist, Mr. Charles Geyer. It does not appear now as 
 complete as it was at one time, owing to the loss of a case containing nearly 
 one-half of my original collection. As it is, I have still reason to believe 
 that it will be no invaluable contribution to the natural history of the Ameri- 
 can territory. I owe my thanks to Mr. Geyer for the fidelity with which 
 he served me. 
 
 Appendix C exhibits a list of fossils, among those of my collection, that 
 belong to some prominent localities indicated in my report. I am far from 
 believing that it is in any way complete ; but it may serve to draw the at- 
 tention of future travellers to the interest connected with the spots that are 
 there designated. 
 
 I am indebted to Professor J. T. Ducatel for the translation of Part I of 
 this report; and to my young, intelligent, and laborious friend, John H, 
 Alexander, esq., civil engineer, for that of Part II. For the public, this 
 acknowledgment alone is necessary, as the feelings of mutnal affection, re- 
 gard, and esteem, growing out of this intercourse, is a matter between our- 
 selves. 
 
 Thus far Mr. Nicollet had writlea of his introduction, when death put an end to his labors, 
 and before he had been able to revise his report, which had been returned to him for that pur- 
 pose, and also to add the astronomical observations upon which his calculations were founded. 
 These observations form parts of his journals, which are to be deposited in the Bureau of the 
 Corps of Topographical Engineers. 
 
 September 13, 1843, 
 
REPORT 
 
 I. N. NICOLLET 
 
 COLONEL J. J. ABERT, CHIEF OF THE CORPS OF TOPOGRAPHICAL 
 
 ENGINEERS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE REGION EMBRACED WITHIN THE MAP. 
 
 The most remarkable feE^ture in the physical geography of North Amer- 
 ica is exhibited in its two systems of mountains ; the one to the west, 
 embracing the Mexican Ancles, and their prolongation northward, under 
 the name of the Rocky Mountains ; the other to the east, known as the 
 Alleghanies, or Apalachian chain. The wide expanse separating these 
 two systems of mountains, is considered as a vast plain that unites, as it 
 were, the Arctic ocean with the Gulf of Mexico. The irregularities of 
 this connecting region, viewed as an extensive whole, are so trifling, in a 
 topographical respect, that it can hardly be said to be diversified by moun- 
 tains, or even hills. Nevertheless, when examined by sections, it will be 
 found necessary, for the purposes of descriptive geography, to attend to 
 conventional distinctions ; so that, without departing from acknowledged 
 principles, I shall be obliged, according to circumstances, to speak of moun- 
 tains, hills, bluifs, mounds, eminences, plains, plateaux, <Scc. ; using these 
 expressions, however, always in reference to the comparative importance 
 of these irregularities as regards the country under description. Thus the 
 Washita chain, presenting summits that have not more than from 1,000 to 
 1,200 feet of elevation above the sea, or the champaign country at their 
 bases, have very appropriately received the name of the Washita moun- 
 tains ; whilst the mineral region of Missouri, the swellings of whose sur- 
 face attain nearly the s^me elevation in reference to the Mississippi, as the 
 former do to the ocean, are denominated the Missouri /lills. 
 
 As to the region of country embraced within the limits of my map, its 
 topography differs entirely from that of the two mentioned. It is neither 
 a mountainous, nor a hilly, nor an absolutely flat country; exhibiting un- 
 dulations of the surface that are not entitled to these usual appellations. 
 There are hillocks, swells, and uplands ; but they have a longitudinal 
 and horizontal, rather than a vertical projection. In other words, it is 
 a beautiful arrangement of upland and lovirland plains, that give it an 
 aspect sui generis. The first Frenchmen who explored it, and the British 
 and Americans who followed them, were so forcibly impressed with this 
 
[ 237 ] 8 
 
 novelty in the appearance of the topography, that they employed new 
 names to designate it. Hence, we have the expressions: Coteau des 
 Prairies, Coteau des Bois, Hauteurs des Terres, and roUing, flat, or 
 marshy prairies. 
 
 Of course these names are appUcable only to certain sections of the 
 country, for neither of them would express its general character; and, in 
 fact, the vast region comprised by my map has no prominent feature by 
 which it could be described as a whole, unless it be some geological traits 
 that cannot be made apparent to every one. And I would particularly in- 
 sist that the map, as it appears in its published form, ought not to leave 
 an impression upon whoever consulted it, that the country which it is in- 
 tended to delineate is nothing more than a succession of lakes, marshes, 
 and f-avannahs. There is still sufficient variety in the irregularities of its 
 surface, and the distribution of the watercourses, woodlands, and pai- 
 ries, to bestow interest and value upon its several subdivisions, each of 
 which would require a separate description. But this would be rather 
 long, and made tedious by frequent repetitions. Fortunately, however, 
 the task can be simplified, the repetitions avoided, and much time gained, 
 if, previous to entering directly into the subject, I am allowed to say a 
 few words on that geological feature of the country to which 1 have before 
 alluded. 
 
 The region comprised within my map is covered by a species of de- 
 Erratic de- posite of the kind for a long time known by the name of dilu- 
 po^iies, vlum ; but as this word implies a theoretic idea as regards the 
 accumulation of such deposites, the cause of which is still open to con- 
 troversy, it is now very generally abandoned, and the designation of er- 
 ratic deposites, among others, adopted in its stead. 1 have, therefore, used 
 the latter expression, as comprehending a vast dcposite of sand, gravel, 
 pebbles, and clays, (arranged in zones, and occupying almost always the 
 bottoms.) and masses of rocks transported to a distance from their origi- 
 nal position, usually called erratic blocks. This deposite always occurs 
 between the vegetable soil and the rocky strata of all ages thai constitute 
 the geological basis of each section of country. To the north and to 
 the south of the western portion of lake Superior, as far as the upper 
 half of St. Peter's river, it overlies primary rocks ; south of the St, Peter's, 
 to the west and east of the Mississippi, it covers silurian rocks; whilst 
 on the Upper Missouri it rests upon a cretaceous formation, everywhere 
 mixing itself with the detritus of the rocks in place. The thickness of 
 this deposite is very variable ; sometimes only quite superficial, and, when 
 of a more important character, from 150 to 160 feet in depth. It is met 
 with indifferently with its erratic fragments on the summits of hills, on 
 the upland plateaux, over the plains, and in the valleys. It has contrib- 
 uted towards levelling the original irregularities of the soil, by filling up 
 hollows ; or varied them, by transporting over the country new materials ; 
 whilst the subsequent action of water and weather has further brought 
 abou its characteristic features. 
 
 The erratic blocks of this deposite are not generally rounded, but they 
 Erraiic are Still boulders. Those which have the rounded appearance, 
 blocks. niost usual to boulders, among a great many that 1 had an op- 
 portunity of examining, owe it to their exposure to the atmospheric agents 
 which have worn them down. This is made evident by examining 
 those portions of them which arc buried in the soil, and in this way pro- 
 
9 [ 237 ] 
 
 tected ; their angles and corners show but little erosion. On the other 
 hand, wherever there is a deposite of pebbles, its oris^in may be easily traced 
 to local causes that have acted long after the arrival of the erratic deposite 
 now under consideration. 
 
 It is difficult to determine the direction whence the materials of the erratic 
 deposiie came. The presumption is, judging from the nature of the erratic 
 blocks — the analogues of which are found in higher latitudes — that they 
 were brought from the north to the south. 
 
 On the borders of tlie great lakes, on the flanks of valleys, and where 
 traces of recent floods are apparent, the erratic blocks are in great abund- 
 ance. Their size varies from a few inches to a few cubic feet; yet this 
 seems to bear no relation to the distance whence they are supposed to have 
 come. On the contrary, it appears that the largest are often found in the 
 highest spots, and at a greater distance from their origin. I did not find 
 them more abundant on the northern slopes of hills than on the southern. 
 Their oryctoguostic distinctions, are — granitic sienite, resembling the Egyp- 
 tian red granite; a true sienite, with white feldspar, a granite with a large 
 proportion of feldspar; gneiss; amphibolite ; red jasper; quartz pebbles, 
 and a great variety of agates and carnelians. These last are carried off by 
 the streams, and scattered in great numbers over the shores of the Missis- 
 sippi and Missouri ; but they have no value, and are collected by travellers 
 merely as reminiscences. The sand and gravel are composed of the small 
 fragments of all these rocks ; the sand, though varying according to places, 
 being principally silicious. It is this sand which constitutes the predomi- 
 nant ingiedient in the soils of the whole region embraced in the map, mod- 
 ified, according to localities, by the presence of carbonate of lime, mag- 
 nesia, oxide of iron, &,c. 
 
 I need add nothing more of a general nature as regards the erratic de- 
 posite, having introduced an account of it in this place more with the view 
 of its bearing upon the agricultural condition of the country, than to discuss 
 its importance as a geological phenomenon. It may be concluded, from 
 what 1 have said of it, that there is no region laid down on the map that is 
 to be considered as desert. The country is still unknown ; there are soli- 
 itic/cs — that is, uninhabited, but habitable regions. 
 
 The basin of the Upper Mississippi is separated, in a great part of its ex- 
 Cotean des tent from that of the Missouri, by an elevated plain ; the appear- 
 Prairies. ance of which, seen from the valley of the St. Peter's, or that of 
 the riviere Jacques, loo?ning as it were a distant shore, has suggested for it 
 the name of Coteau des Prairies. Its more appropriate designation would 
 be that of plateau, which means something more than is conveyed to the 
 mind by the expression, a plain. 
 
 Its northern extremity is in latitude 46°, extending to 43°; after which 
 it loses its distinctive elevation above the surrounding plains, and passes 
 into rolling prairies. Its length is about two hundred miles, and its 
 general direction NNW. and SSE. Its northern termination, (called 
 Te'e da Coteau, in consequence of its peculiar configuration) is not more 
 than 15 to 20 miles across ; its elevation above the level of the Big Stone 
 lake is S90 feet, and above the ocean 1,916 feet. Starting from this ex- 
 tremity, (that is, the head of the Coteau,) the surface of the plateau is undu- 
 lating, forming many dividing ridges which separate the waters flowing 
 into the St. Peters and the Mississippi from those of the Missouri. 
 
[ 237 ] 10 
 
 Under the 44th degree of latitude, the breadth of the Coteau is about 40 
 miles, and its mean elevation is here reduced to 1,450 feet above the sea. 
 Within this space its two slopes are rather abrupt, crowned with verdure, 
 and scolloped by deep ravines thickly shaded with bushes, forming the beds 
 of rivulets that water the subjacent plains. 
 
 The Coteau itself is isolated, in the midst of boundless and fertile prai- 
 ries, extending to the wesf, to the north, and into the valley of the St. 
 Peter's. 
 
 The plain at its northern extremity is a most beautiful tract of land, 
 diversified by hills, dales, woodland, and lakes; the latter abounding in 
 fish. This region of country is probably the most elevated between the 
 Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's bay. From its summit, proceeding from its 
 western to its eastern limits, grand views are afforded. At its eastern bor- 
 der particularly, the prospect is magnificent beyond description, extending 
 over the immense green turf that forms the basm of the Red river of the 
 North, the forest-capped summits of the hauteurs des tcrres that surround 
 the sources of the Mississippi, the granitic valley of the Upper St. Peter's, 
 and the depressions in which are lake Travers and the Big Stone lake. 
 There can be no doubt that in future times this region will be the summer 
 resort of the wealthy of the land. 
 
 In attempting a faint description of this beautiful country, my thoughts 
 and feelings are painfully brought back to it. * Let me be permitted, as a re- 
 lief, to transcribe, in connexion with it, a trifling incident. 
 
 1 owned a white horse, of excellent temper and service — my companion 
 during the whole of my campaign of 1839, and until 1 reached the upper 
 part of the Coteau des Prairies. Having detailed my assistant (Lieutenant 
 Fremont) to explore one series of lakes, whilst I proceeded to the explora- 
 tion of another, I loaned my horse to one of my worthy guides (Louisoii 
 Freniere) who was to accompany Mr. Fremont. This short expedition 
 proved very trying both to men and horses ; so that mine sickened, and had 
 to be abandoned. The next day Freniere went to see the animal. He 
 found him where he had left him, but unable to move. He was compelled 
 to leave him ; but, before taking this determination, my half-breed guide 
 took a paper of vermillion, with which he painted the head and other parts 
 of the animal, in recommendation to the genii loci, as well as to any Indian 
 that might chance to discover him. 
 
 The other portions of the Coteau, ascending from the lower latitudes, 
 present pretty much the same characters. This difference, however, is re- 
 markable : that the woodlands become scarcer, whilst the open prairies in- 
 crease in extent. It is very rarely only that groves are met with, to which 
 the Ndakotahs, or Sioux, have given the name of Tchaji Witah, or Wood 
 islands. When these groves are surrounded by weiter, they assume some 
 resemblance to oases ; and hence I have assigned this name to some of 
 them on my map. 
 
 These oases, possessed of a good soil, well wooded, offering an abund- 
 ance of game, and waters teeming with fish, offer inducements for perma- 
 nent settlements. In this region tliere are frequent instances of a marsh, or 
 lake, furnishing waters to different hydrographical basins — a fact observed 
 by the Sioux, and which they express, in the compound word of their dia- 
 lect, ?}iini akipan kaduza ; from mini, water ; akij)an, division, share ; and 
 kaduza, to fiow, to run out. 
 
11 [ 237 ] 
 
 There are, besides, other 6ne lakes that would furnish, on their borders, 
 aligihle sites for such villages as were formerly occupied by some of the 
 Ndakotah tribes previous to the war of extermination waged against them 
 by the Sac and Fox Indians. Among them may be numbered the series of 
 lakes designated as the Shetek, Benton, Ti^an-kahi, Poinsett, Abert, Spirit, 
 and Tizaptonafi lakes. 
 
 Whatever people may fix their abode in this region must, necessarily, 
 become agriculturists and shepherds, drawing all their resources from the 
 soil. They must not only raise the usual agricultural products for feed- 
 ing, as is now but too generally done in some parts of the west, but they 
 will have to turn their attention to other rural occupations — such as tend- 
 ing sheep for their wool ; which would greatly add to their resources, as 
 well as finally bring about a more extended application of the industrial 
 arts among them. 
 
 Reverting now to another subject: the future inhabitants of this region, 
 
 Botan ' ""^0".? ifs ^^^^^ interesting specimens of vegetation will find, as 
 
 trees, the American and red elm, lime tree, bar oak, white ash, 
 
 ash-leavcd maple, nettle tree, large American aspen; as shrubs, the hazel, 
 
 red root, peterswort, (fee; as herbs, alum-root, tufted and American vetch, 
 
 wood sorrel, sedge and pasture grasses. 
 
 The intermediate prairies are characterized by small depressions, filled 
 with rough grasses, and bordered by the Canadian cinquefoil, the ger- 
 mander, southern lily, and button snake-root. Extensive beds of the 
 Virginia strawberry are frequently met with in low places; and in the 
 vicinity of salinas, a species of clover called bvffalo clover. On the arid 
 slopes is the pink milk vetch, inhabited by millions of Spanish flies. 
 Sandbrakes are generally full of mustard and dwarf amaranths ; whilst 
 the stony-grassy borders are fringed with dense bushes of the mimosa tribe 
 and long-leaved willows. Finally, all the high prairies abound with the 
 silver-leaved psoralia, which is the prairie turnip of the Americans, the 
 pomme des prairies of the Canadians, and furnishes an invaluable food to 
 the Indians. 
 
 The plateau of the Cotean des Prairies is composed, in a great measure, 
 of the materials belonging to what 1 have named the eriatic deposiie, 
 as is evidenced by the nature of its soil, the physiognomy of the ridges 
 and hillocks that diversify its surface, the deep ravines by vi^hich it is 
 flanked, and the innumerable erratic blocks strewed over the borders of its 
 lakes. 
 
 We have no data by which to determine the inferior limits of this de- 
 positc; still, there is reason to think that it rests upon such primary rocks 
 as show themselves along the line of rapids of the Upper St. Peter's, con- 
 sisting of granite, sienitic and other metamorphic rocks. Nevertheless, over 
 the vast extent of this plateau, there is, apparently, but one spot where the 
 subjacent rock makes its appearance — and this is at the Indian Red Pipe- 
 stone Quarry, so called. 
 
 This locality, having acquired some celebrity, may be specially noticed. 
 i shall first describe the route by which I was led to it. 
 
 I started from St. Peter's, ascending the river of the same name: and, 
 as the latter has been well described in the narrative of the second expe- 
 dition of Major Long, and subsequently, with equal accuracy and in more 
 detail, by Mr. G. W. Featherstonhaugh, in his " Report of a Geological 
 
[ 237 ] 12 
 
 Reconnoissance," <kc., ] need not stop at it. I will only remark, en pas- 
 sa?i(, that the distance from St. Peter's to the Traverse des Sioux, being 
 116 miles, might be opened for steamboat navigation, by removing sundry 
 obstacles that occur at the place called the Little Rapids. 
 
 The position designated as the Traverse des Sioux is destined to be- 
 come, one day, the most important that presents itself on a distance of 400 
 miles along the beautiful and fertile valley of the St. Peter's. Its advanta- 
 ges are manifest : it has a good landing ; the surrounding soil is excellent, 
 ■well wooded, and, from a back ridge of 2U0 feet in elevation, there is a 
 creek affording a great amount of water-power, easily accessible from the 
 liver. From the cotton wood growing on the alluvial bottoms I have sup- 
 plied myself with canoes 32 feet in length. 
 
 One mile from the Traverse des Sioux, and on the bank of the river, 
 are the remains of an Indian camp ; the circular area of which is still in- 
 dicated by the heaps of stones around each lodge. As this indicates the 
 existence of a custom no longer in use among the Ndakotahs, or Sioux, 
 who have occupied the country for a long time back, it is difficult to as- 
 sigt) the true origin of this relic. The Sissitons, the fourth tribe of the 
 Ndakotahs, on whose lands these relics are found, have no tradition of 
 them. 
 
 The Traverse des Sioux, or Sioux crossing-place, is called by the In- 
 dians Oeyuwai^ah. There is some ambiguity in the geographical names 
 of places in this vicinity, as laid down in Mr. Featherstonhaugh's report. 
 I shall add a few words in the hope of removing it. 
 
 Opposite the trading-post at the Sioux crossings, there is a beautiful 
 semilunar bend, to which the name of Crescent has been applied in Major 
 Long's second expedition. At the commencement of this bend, there is 
 a swamp of the character of such as are called by the Sioux wiwi ; the 
 waters of which are drained through a small creek that empties into the 
 St. Peter's. Now, the word wi, in the Sioux language, signifies a celestial 
 body — an equivalent of the French word astre; thus, they say a/npetuwi 
 — the orb of day, the sim ; ran-yetu. loi — the orb of night, or the moon. 
 But, according to the genius of the Ndakotah tongue, the word ici is not 
 considered as the radical of the term loiwi. The creek in this vicinity is 
 called Wiwi-Khanke-Watpadan, viz: creek at the end of the swamp; and 
 yet there is nothing in all this in allusion to the moon. 
 
 Another important position is that of Lac-quiparle, where is the resi- 
 dence of the Messrs. Renville, father and son. This will become a stop- 
 ping place, and one of recruitment for the growing trade between the west 
 and the British establishment on the Red river of the North. 
 
 I may stop awhile to say that the residence of the Uenville family, for 
 a number of years back, has offered the only retreat to travellers to be 
 found between St. Peter's and the British posts, in a distance of 700 
 miles. The liberal and untiring hospitality dispensed by this respectable 
 family, which 1 have experienced myself, and most gratefully acknowl- 
 edge on this occasion ; the great influence exercised by it over the Indian 
 tribes inhabiting this region of country, in the maintenance of peace, and 
 the protection of travellers, would demand, besides our gratitude, some 
 special acknowledgment, not only on the part of the government of the 
 United States, but also from the administrators of the Hudson Bay Com- 
 pany. 
 
13 [ 237 J 
 
 But to continue our narrative. We left the Sioux crossing-place for the 
 month of the VVaraoJu, or simply the Waraju ; otherwise, Cottonwood 
 river, the riviere au.v Liards of the P'rench. During this journey of 26 
 miles, we visiled the Big Swan, or Marrahtanka lake, represented by some 
 geographers as no more than a large swamp, mistaking it lor some marshy 
 spaces in its vicinity. The truth is, that Marrahtanka lake is a beautiful 
 sheet of water about 13 miles long, in the midst of which are several islands 
 sufficiently large to furnish a summer's retreat to the Sissitons, whose most 
 in)portant village is at the mouth of the Waraju. 
 
 Leaving this village, we proceeded over the elevated prairies that border 
 the river last mentioned, and went on ascending from them to the Coteau 
 des Prairies, in passing through the sources of the Waraju, which we found 
 may be navigable for canoes about two-thirds of its whole length. 
 
 I pitched my tents, during three days, about the group of Shetek, or 
 Shetek Pelican lakes, that occupy a portion of the space forming the 
 Jakes. plateau ot the Coteau des Prairies. This name belongs to the 
 language of the Chippeways, and has been given to them by the voyageurs. 
 The Sioux call this group of lakes Rabechy — meaning the place v/here the 
 pelicans nestle. Their v/aters are, in a great measure, supplied by a fork 
 from the sources of the Des Moines river! They contain an abundance of 
 fish, and their shores are amply supplied with wood to admit the location of 
 enviable farms. Hence we proceeded to the spot which I have designated 
 on my map as the Great Oasis, and called by the Sioux Tchan- 
 
 reat asis. ^Haye-tanka, translated by the voyageurs la grande lisilre de 
 hois — the great skirt of wood. This spot is a forest of limited extent, com- 
 posed of lime trees, swamp ash, prickly ash, white birch, beaver- wood, white 
 oak, &c., and surrounded by large lakes garnished with aquatic plants, 
 swarming with muskrats, covered at certain seasons with wild fowl, and 
 offering a safe protection against the annual firing of the prairies. The 
 usual depth of these lakes is from 7 to 12 feet; and the soil of their borders 
 IS found well adapted to the cultivation of the potato, and the growth of 
 culinary vegetables. 
 
 The spot which I have just described is an important one in the midst of 
 these solitudes. It was, for a long time, a trading-post depending on the 
 agency at St. Peter's. Mr. J. Laframboise, who accompanied me as a guide 
 and interpreter, and to whom I am indebted for much valuable information 
 obtained during my campaign of 1838, lived there for several years in the 
 capacity of agent for the American Fur Company. But it is no longer an 
 agency, having been suppressed ever since the Warpetoiis, the Sissitons, 
 and the Warpekuies, forming the second, third, and fourth tribes of the 
 Ndakotahs, have become so reduced in number by their wars with the Sac 
 and Fox Indians, and the recent ravages of the small-pox. 
 
 In this region of country, now under consideration, the air is remarkably 
 pure and elastic ; but the winds are almost constantly high, because nothing 
 interrupts their movements. But the absence of trees preventing the con- 
 densation of the atmospheric vapors, springs are very scarce ; accordingly, 
 it has been observed that, for days in succession, rain fdlls at a distance, 
 without ever reaching the open spaces. 
 
 After leaving the skirt of woods far behind us, and crossing the open 
 spaces just referred to, we reach the head-waters of the river Des Moines; 
 m i principal source of which flows at the bottom of a pretty vale, and forms 
 
[237] 14 
 
 two small lakes, on the second of which I determined a geographical po- 
 sition. 
 
 In these parts may he more particularly observed the evidences of the 
 erratic deposite, presenting themselves in considerable masses on the slope 
 of the valleys, and consisting of fragments of primitive and transition rocks, 
 accnmnlaled in such large quantities that the irregularities in the surface 
 are to be exclusively ascribed to them. "Wherever a bend, an angle, or 
 some prominent bluff, is more exposed to the fury of the northwest winds, 
 that blow violently a great part of the year, the soil is torn up and scattered 
 before them, leaving exposed to view its internal structure. This is found 
 to consist principally of fragments of granite rocks. 
 
 The Sioux take advantage of these loose materials to erect signals on the 
 most elevated spots, or to designate the place by .some conical structure, 
 where some exhausted hunter has died on the prairies, and desires to be 
 buried in a more prominent situation ; or they amuse themselves in shaping 
 them into fantastic figures. They give names to these localities, which 
 thus serve as landmarks in a country where there are no other geographical 
 beacons. 
 
 The greatest swell in the undulating surface of the Coteau des Prairies — 
 that which forms the dividing ridge between the waters of the Mississippi 
 and those of the Missouri — has a general direction NW. and SK. li is it- 
 self a wave in the trough, of which there are several sloughs, one of which 
 furnishes the water of the rivulet between the two lakes, which I have con- 
 sidered as the source of the " Des Moines." 
 
 On a SE. extension of this principal elevation, there is what the Chippe- 
 ways call a mas/ikeg, and the Sioux whci, or swamp, or elastic prairie, 
 which is the head-spring of a small river that empties into the River of the 
 Rock, one of the tributaries to the Sioux river. It flows at the bottom of a 
 deep ravine, on the banks of which there is a luxuriant growth of shrubbery ; 
 but, as the branches of these do not reach above the heights of the ravine, 
 the Sioux have called it tchan 7ia tambe : which literally means hidden 
 wood — bois cache. The same wiwi, in rainy seasons, furnishes a small 
 stream which finds its way to the " Des Moines." The name by which it 
 is known to the Sioux is Okshidanomwitcha-klepi; meaning the place 
 where the two young men were killed (by the Sakes.) 
 
 Lastly, by way of illustration to what 1 have said above of the usages of 
 the Sioux, I may add, that, on the western side of the aforesaid wiwi, and 
 on the most elevated crest of the Coteau, there is a great accumulation of 
 the materials belonging to the erratic deposite, of which they have availed 
 themselves to construct the effigy of a man ; so that the spot is called tuyan- 
 witchashta-karapi ; in English, the place where has been built up a man of 
 stone. 
 
 We have now arrived in the vicinity of the valley where the Red Pipe- 
 stone Q,uarry is found ; but, before proceeding to describe it, I will, perhaps, 
 be excused for introducing an incident in the journey that led to it. 
 
 On our way, after having reconnoitred distinct marks of a buffalo path, 
 we unexpectedly fell upon a circular breastwork of about 2,000 feet in 
 circumference, and sufficiently elevated to protect the bodies of those who 
 are defending themselves within. The principal entrance is still marked 
 by the places where the chiefs or principal personages of the nation had 
 
15 [ 237 ] 
 
 their lodges ; the situation of these ahvaj^s indicating, not only the main 
 access to the camp, but also the direction whence the enemy was ad. 
 vancing. Two miles further on, accordingly, we met with another camp 
 of a similar character. As the system of fortification was on neither side 
 more comphcated than just described, it would seem that they had been 
 erected during a long talk, the result of which might lead to a war; whilst 
 the small number of tumuli that are found within the breastwork would 
 seem to imply that both parties remained in presence for some time, though 
 there was no important battle fought. 
 
 The Sioux have lost the reminiscences of these camps, and merely con- 
 jecture that they were occupied during the settlement of difficulties between 
 the Titons and Yanktons. 
 
 But to return to the Red Pipestone Q,uarry. The Indians of all the sur- 
 Red Pipe- rounding nations make a regular annual pilgrimage to it, unless 
 stone prevented by their wars or dissensions. The quarry is on the 
 duarry. i^^^^ q( the Sissiton tribe of Sioux. 
 
 The idea of the young Indians, who are very fond of the marvellous, is, 
 that it has been opened by the Great Spirit; and that, whenever it is visited 
 by them, they are saluted by lightning and thunder. We may cite, as a 
 coincidence, our own experience in confirmation of this tradition. Short 
 of half a mile from the valley, we were met by a severe thunder-storm, du- 
 ring which the wind blew with so much force as to threaten the overturn- 
 ing of Mr. Renville's wagon ; and we were obliged to stop for a few min- 
 utes during the short descent into the valley. 
 
 If this mode of reception was at first to be interpreted as an indication of 
 anger on the part of the Great Spirit for our intrusion, we may add, that 
 he was soon reconciled to our presence ; for the sun soon after made its ap- 
 pearance, drying both the valley and our baggage. The rest of the day was 
 spent in pitching our tent on the supposed consecrated ground, and in ad- 
 miring the beauuful effects of lights and shadows produced by the western 
 sun as it illumed the several parts of the bluff, composed of red rocks of 
 different shades, extending a league in length, and presenting the appear- 
 ance of the ruins of some ancient city built of marble and porphyry. The 
 night was calm and temperate, of which we took advantage to make astro- 
 nomical observations. 
 
 The next day after our arrival, we were overtaken by a party of Indians, 
 who had been for many days tracking us at a distance, and whose fires we 
 had mistaken for those of Sacs and Foxes, then at war with the Sioux — 
 one of whom was of our party ; in consequence of which, we had been 
 more than usually cautious at our night encampments. They commenced 
 their preparations for visiting the quarry; the usage being among Indians, 
 whenever they are seeking anythina: useful or indispensable, or when they 
 are about to undertake an enterprise, to prepare themselves by a sort of 
 three days' purification. In the case of supplying themselves with the pipe- 
 stone, he to whom the duty has been assigned of working at the quarry, 
 must abstain from all intercourse with the other sex. They then, in a body, 
 proceed to address prayers and offer presents to the spirit of the quarry. 
 The quarrier is then set to work; but if, perchance, he strikes upon a 
 stratum of the rock imtit to be made into pipes, he is considered an impos- 
 tor, who has impudently boasted of his purity. He is compelled to retire ; 
 and another takes his place, who of course selects a more favorable lo- 
 cation. 
 
[ 237 ] 16 
 
 The old Indians assert that the discovery of the red pipestone is due to 
 the annnai passage of the buffaloes, which, in following and wearing 
 down their accustomed migratory path, at length reached the bed that con- 
 tains it. 
 
 It may be well imagined how interesting such a discovery must have 
 been to a people who attach so much importance to the pipe, and who were 
 thus furnished with a material bearing their favorite red color, and of a na- 
 ture to be easily cut and polished. 
 
 This bufialo path of discovery is still visible for the whole length of a 
 mile, over which there are evidences that the Indians had extracted speci- 
 mens long before they were reduced to the necessity of quarrying, accord- 
 ing to their unskillful methods, the main bed. Hence, for several years past 
 they have expressed regret at the difiiculty of obtaining it. To reach it 
 now, it is necessary to blast a superincumbent stratum of quarzite four and 
 a half feet thick, which could not have been effected with their limited 
 means ; so that they were delighted to see us coming in this particular to 
 their assistance. 1 set my men at work upon it ; and in three days the 
 quarry was opened and disencumbered. In the mean time, I took advan- 
 tage of every favorable occasion to continue my astronomical observations, 
 and to vaccinate the Indians who had joined our party. 
 
 The valley of the " Ked Pipestone" extends from KNW. to SSE. 
 Valley of i" t^e form of an ellipsis; being about three miles in length, 
 the Red with a breadth at its smaller axis of half a mile. It is cradle- 
 Pipebtone. shaped, and its slope to the east is a smooth sward, without trees 
 and without rocks. Its slope to the west is rugged, presenting a surface of 
 rocks throughout its whole length, that form a very picturesque appear- 
 ance, and would deserve a special description if this were the place to do 
 so. But I am now more particularly interested in defining its geological 
 features. 
 
 The principal rock that strikes the attention of the observer in this re- 
 markable inland bluff, is an indurated (metamorphic) sand-rock or quarzite, 
 the red color of which diminishes in intensity from the base to the summit. 
 It is distinctly stratified ; the upper beds being very much weather worn 
 and disintegrated into large and small cubic fragments. 
 
 The whole thickness of this quarzite, which immediately overlies the 
 bed of the red pipestone, is 26j^- leet. Its strata appear to have a small dip 
 to the NE. The floor of the valley, which is higher than the red pipe- 
 stone, is formed by the inferior strata of the quarzite, and in the spring of the 
 year is most generally under water ; the action of which upon the rock is 
 apparent in the great quantity of fragments strewed over the valley, so as 
 to render it uncomfortable to walk over them. The creek by which the 
 valley is drained, feeds in its course three distinct small basins at different 
 elevations, that penetrate down as far as the red pipestone. 
 
 This red pipestone, not more interesting to the Indian than it is to the 
 man of science, by its unique character, deserves a particular description. 
 In the quarry of it which 1 had opened, the thickness of the bed is one 
 foot and a half; the upper portion of which separates in thin slabs, whilst 
 the lower ones are more compact. As a mineralogical species, it may 
 be described as follows : compact ; structure slaty ; receiving a dull pol- 
 ish ; having a red streak ; color blood-red, with dots of a fliinter shade of 
 the same color ; fracture rough ; sectile; feel somewhat greasy; hardness 
 
17 [ 237 J 
 
 not yielding: to the nail ; not scratched by selenite, but easily by calcareous 
 spar; specific gravity 2.90. The acids have no action upon it; before the 
 blowpipe it is infusible ;jer se, but with borax gives a green glass. 
 
 According to Professor Jackson, of Boston, who has analysed it, and ap- 
 plied to it the name of cathnite, after Mr. Catlin, it is composed of — 
 
 Water ....--.. 8.4 
 
 Silica --.---.. 48.2 
 
 Alumina --.---.- ^S.'i 
 
 Magnesia -------- 6.0 
 
 Peroxide of iron ------- 5.0 
 
 Oxide of manganese -.-... o.g 
 
 Carbonate of hme ...... 2.6 
 
 Loss (probably magnesia) ------ 1.0 
 
 100 
 
 But Professor Jackson assimilates it to the agalmatolite, from which it 
 differs, however, very materially by its general aspect, its conduct before 
 the blow-pipe, and its total insolubility in sulphuric acid.* 
 
 Another feature of the Red Pipestone valley is the occurrence of granitic 
 boulders of larger size than any I had previously met. One of them meas« 
 sured about 6U feet in circumference, and was from 10 to 12 feet thick. 
 They are strewed over the valley, in which it is remarkable that there are 
 no pebbles. 
 
 1 shall now proceed to give a short account of some of the regions of 
 country adjoining the Coteau des Prairies, omitting those which have al- 
 ready found a place in the geography of the United States, so as to be more 
 particular concerning such as are but little or not at all known. 
 
 Among these, that which appeared to me the most favorable, is the one 
 Undine re- watered by the Bold Mankato, or Blue Earth river, and to which 
 
 sion. I have given the name of Undine Region. 
 
 The great number of the navigable tributaries of the Mankato, spreading 
 themselves out in the shape of a fan; the group of lakes surrounded by 
 well-wooded hills ; some wide-spreading prairies with a fertile soil ; others 
 apparently less favored, but open to improvement ; — the whole together be- 
 stow upon this region a most picturesque appearance. It was while on a 
 visit to lakes Okamanpidan and Tchanhassan, (Little Heron and Maple- 
 wood lakes, that it occurred to me to give it the name I have adopted, de- 
 rived from that of an interesting and romantic German tale, the heroine of 
 which belonged to the extensive race of water spirits living in the brooks, 
 and rivers, and lakes, whose father was a mighty prince. She was, more- 
 over, the niece of a great brook (the Mankato) who lived in the midst of 
 forests, and was beloved by all the many great streams of the surround- 
 ing country, &c., (fcc. 
 
 I do not know why I fancied an analogy between the ideal country do- 
 scribed in the tale, and that of the one before me ; but I involuntarily, as it 
 were, adopted the name. 
 
 The limit of this region is the NE. prong of the Coteau des Prairies, 
 
 ♦ The red pipe stone is also found on the upper part of the Mishkwa§;okag, or Red Cedar 
 river, which fills into the Chippeway river, that empties itself into the Mississippi below lake 
 Pepin. 
 
 2 
 
[ 237 ] 18 
 
 which takes in the sources of the Mankato and of the La Hon tan rivers, 
 subdividing itself into undulations whence proceed the waters of the Wazi- 
 ojii^ or Pine river, Miniska., or White Water river, Oka/t, or Heron river, 
 <fcc., &.C. ; all emptying into the Mississippi. 
 
 The Mankato becomes navigable with boats within a few miles of its 
 sources. It is deep, with a moderate current along a great portion of its 
 course, but becomes very rapid on its approach to the Sr, Peter's. Its bed 
 is narrowly walled up by banks rising to an elevation of from 60 to SO feet, 
 and reaching up to the uplands through which the river flows. These 
 banks are frequently clifi^. or vertical escarpments — such as the one called 
 by the Sioux Maiiya kichaksa, or cleft elevation. The breadth of the river 
 is pretty uniformly from 80 to 120 feet wide ; and the average breadth of 
 the valley through which it flows scarcely a quarter of a mile. The latter, 
 as well as the high grounds, are well wooded ; the timber beginning to 
 spread out on both shores, especially since they have become less frequent- 
 ed by the Sioux hunters, and are not so often fired. But the crossings of 
 the river are hard to find, requiring to be pointed out by an experienced 
 guide. I have laid down on the map my route over the Undine Region, 
 and the geographical positions of the crossing places will be found in the 
 table at the end of the report. 
 
 On the left bank of the Mankato, six miles from its moi^th, in a rocky 
 Indian blue bluff" composed of sandstone and limestone, are found cavities in- 
 earth, which the famed blue or green earth, used by the Sioux as their 
 principal pigment, is obtained. This material is nearly exhausted, and it is 
 not likely that this is the spot where a Mr. Lesueur (who is mentioned in- 
 the Narrative of Major Long's Second Expedition, as also by Mr, Feather- 
 stonhaugh) could, in his third voyage during the year 1700, have collected 
 his four thousand pounds of copper-earth sent by him to France. I have 
 reason to believe that Lesueur's location is on the river to which I have 
 affixed his name, and which empties into the Mankato three quarters of a 
 league above Fort L'Huillier, built by him, and where he spent a winter. 
 
 This location corresponds precisely with that given by Charlevoix, whilst 
 it is totally inapplicable to the former. Here the blue earth is abundant in 
 the steep and elevated hills at the mouth of this river, which hills form a 
 broken country on the right side of the Mankato. Mr. Fremont and my- 
 self have verified this fact — he, during his visit to Lesueur river; and I^ 
 upon the locality designated by Mr. Featherstonhaugh, where the Ndako- 
 talis formerly assembled in great numbers to collect it ; but to which they 
 now seldom resort, as it is comparatively scarce — at least so 1 was in- 
 formed by Sleepy Eye, the chief of the iSissitot.s, who accompanied me 
 during this excursion. 
 
 As 1 did in the case of the red pipostone described above. 1 will state tlie 
 mineralogical characters of the Indian blue earth, or clay. It is massive, 
 somewhat plastic, emits an argillaceous odor when breathed upon ; color, 
 bluish green ; easily scratched with the nail when formed into hardened 
 balls. The acids have no action upon it ; it is infusible before the blow- 
 pipe, but loses its color and becomes brown. This color is due to the per- 
 oxide of iron, which it contains in the proportion of ten per cent, at least. 
 It contains no potash, and but a small proportion of lime. It is a very 
 different mineral from that described by Dr. Thompson, under the name of 
 pipe clay. 
 
19 [ 237 ] 
 
 Next comes the region of country between the St. Peter's and the upper 
 „ .^ . portions of La Hontan and Lesueur rivers, above referred to. 
 
 oib- rancs. ,^^^^ .^ ^^^ extensive district, thiclcly Set in forests, amidst which 
 there are reported to be many large lakes. 
 
 The French give to the forests the name of Bots-francs, or Boisforts, 
 whenever they are not composed principally of trees belonging to the fam- 
 ily of the coniferoi. 
 
 To complete an account of the physical geography of the country, ui- 
 cluding Undine Region with the last mentioned, I will now enumerate 
 some of the most important trees, shrubs, and plants, that characterize its 
 »ylva aiidjlora. 
 
 The whole country embraced by the Lower St. Peter's and the Undine 
 
 Botany of Region exceeds any land of the Mississippi above Wisconsin 
 Undine Re- river, as well in the quality and quantity of its timber as the fer- 
 
 S^o'^- tility of its soil. The forests of the valley on the right bank are 
 connected by groves and small wooded streams of the adjoining prairies 
 with the forest called Bois-francs ; and they extend so far southwest as to 
 include the lands of the upper waters of the Mankato river. 
 
 The forest trees, as reported to me by Mr. Geyer, are chiefly soft maple, 
 American and red elm, black walnut, the nettle tree, bass wood, red and 
 white ash ; the undergrowth, the common hawthorn, prickly ash. high 
 cranberry, red root, gray dogwood, fox grapes, horse briar, and moonseed. 
 Among the herbs, are the wild and bristly sarsaparilla, Indian turnip, the 
 gay orchis, and others ; rushes and the flowering ferns are abundant along 
 the low banks of the rivers. The valley prairies are rich in pasture grasses 
 and leguminous and orchideous plants, such as the yellow ladies' slipper, 
 American and tufted vetch, and others. The lowest parts near the borders 
 of the woods, and those subject to inundations, are filled with the high 
 weeds common to such places — as the ragged cup, tall thistle, great bitter- 
 weed, the tuberous sunflower, and others. 
 
 Swamps are frequent, and some of them contain extensive tracts of tam- 
 arack pines. Cedars grow intermixed wiih red birch on the rocky decliv- 
 ities of the lower Mankato river. Red and bar oak, with hazel, red root, 
 peterswort, and the wild rose, are the frees and shrubs of the uplands. 
 There are, besides, thickets of poplar- birch, that are frequent in the eleva- 
 ted prairies near the river. The prairies are very luxuriant, and generally 
 somewhat level and depressed; the gum plant, and button snake-root are 
 their most abundant and conspicuous herbs. 
 
 To give animation to the Undine Region and to the valley of tiie St. 
 Peter's, as well as to develop trade between the British possessions, the Ter- 
 ritory of Iowa, and the State of Missouri, it would be necessary for govern- 
 ment to open routes of communication between St. Peter's and the Traverse 
 des Sioux, through the Bois-francs mentioned above; between St. Peter's 
 and the Prairie du Chien ; between Dubuque and the Lac-qui-parle ; 
 through the Undine Region, with a fork in the direction of the Traverse des 
 Sioux, passing by Fremont and Okoman lakes, (which latter is at the 
 headwaters of La Hontan river,) and in other directions that would natur- 
 ally suggest themselves. 
 
 The geological formation that characterizes the Undine Region, as well 
 as the St. Peter's, as far nearly as the mouth of the Waraju, is the same as 
 that of Fort Snelling, which 1 shall describe further on. It consists 
 mainly in a thick stratum of friable sandstone as the basis, succeeded by 
 
[ 237 ] 20 
 
 a deposite of limestone, which is sometimes magnesian, and occasionally 
 contains fossils ; the whole covered by what I have called the erratic de- 
 posite. 
 
 The sandstone forms the Little Rapids of the St. Peter's, and, reappear- 
 ing at the Traverse des Sioux, determines other rapids that are observed 
 in a beautiful stream two miles NE. of the trading post in this place. 
 At other intermediate localities, the sandstone and limestone both appear ; 
 but further on, the limestone disappears altogether; because it goes thin- 
 ning out as the western limits of the formation are approached. This may 
 be observed near the Waraju, and towards the upper parts of the Mankato, 
 where the limestone, and indeed the sandstone, are replaced by beds of clay 
 or of calcareous marl. 
 
 In the argillaceous deposites last referred to, there are red ochre, other 
 ferruginous minerals, and lignites. Between the sandstone and 
 
 inera ogy. ^j^^ limestone there is a bed of whitish clay, enclosing nodules 
 of the blue earth ; and sometimes, between the strata of limestone, bands 
 of argillaceous iron ore, intermixed with siliceous and calcareous incrusta- 
 tions. 
 
 The account given above applies equally to the rocky cliffs on the upper 
 part of the La Houtan river, and especially to the interesting locality at the 
 entrance of its south fork, which is four miles to the east of lake Ti-tanka- 
 tanrmian. 
 
 Those who have read the travels of Baron de la Hontan, in which he 
 La Honian mentions his discovery of a certain long river coming from the 
 
 river. west, and falling into the Mississippi, may, perhaps, think that, 
 by giving his name to a river upon my raap, I meant to clear up the 
 doubt which has existed, for more than 150 years, as regards the veracity 
 of this officer. 
 
 Such was not originally ray intention ; but I am forced into it after ter- 
 minating my exploration of the Undine Region. Having afterwards pro- 
 cured a copy of La Hontan's book, in which there is a roughly-made map 
 of his long river, I was struck with the resemblance of its course, as laid 
 down, with that of Cannon river ; which I had previously sketched in my 
 own field-book. 1 soon convinced myself that the principal statements of 
 the Baron in reference to the country, and the few details he gives of the 
 physical character of the river, coincided remarkably with what I had laid 
 down as belonging to Cannon river. 
 
 Thus the lakes and swamps corresponded ; traces of Indian villages 
 mentioned by him might be found in the growth of a certain grass that 
 propagates itself around all old Indian settlements. Some ol the names 
 which he assigns to them may be referred to dialects of the Sioux tongue ; 
 and even his account of the feasting of his men on the large number of 
 (he American hare which he found there, is substantiated by the voyageurs. 
 
 His account, too, of the mouth of the river is particularly accurate. The 
 most scrupulous geographer, describing it at this time, would have but little 
 to alter. As this locality is in the way of travellers going to St. Peter's, I 
 will quote from the text of La Hontan, so that they may judge of the truth 
 of my assertion, 
 
 " We entered (he says) the mouth of this long river, which is a sort of 
 large lake filled with cane-brakes (jones;) in the midst of which we dis- 
 covered a narrow channel, which we followed up," (fee. 
 
21 [ 237 1 
 
 I do not pretend, however, to justify his gross exaggeration of the length 
 of the river ; of the numerous population on its banks ; and his pretended 
 information respecting the nations inhabiting the more remote regions. 
 This sort of exaggeration appears to have belonged to the period ; but 
 there is, apparently, a more serious objection to be made to his narrative — 
 namely, that it appears, from his text, he travelled during the months of 
 November and December ; at which period of the year the rivers in these 
 parts are most usually frozen, and the voyage, therefore, impracticable. But 
 the received opinion, on the other hand, is, that it is one of the last to freeze, 
 and is the last resort of the wild fowl. 'Vhe Sionx are said to congregate, 
 in consequence, upon its banks in large numbers ; relying on this resource, 
 whilst they are otherwise collecting their peltries, insomuch that the Amer- 
 ican Fur Department at St. Peter's has always kept up this post for the pur- 
 pose of securing the advantages of this trade. Besides, this river is fed by 
 a great number of springs; and the upper portion of its course is, in a re- 
 markable manner, protected from sudden changes of temperature by high 
 rocky banks, and thick forests that cover them. 
 
 Under all circumstances, 1 have thought proper to notice these facts, that 
 seem to possess sufficient interest in the history of the geography of the 
 west. 1 have stated what appeared to me the true facts in the case; and I 
 may add, in conclusion, that if La Hontan's claims to discoveries are mere 
 fables, he has had the good fortune or the sagacity to have come near the 
 truth. 
 
 Further, in reference to La Hontan river : When the French were in 
 possession of the country, it was known by the name of " Riviere mix 
 Canots^'' or Canoe river ; as it was there that the traders were in the habit 
 of concealmg their canoes. Its present name of Cannon river is evidently 
 a corruption of the French one. The one which it bore among the Sioux 
 in 170U, when Lesueur ascended the Mississippi, (and which it still bears,) 
 was imjan-hosndata^ or Standing Rock. 
 
 This Indian name {Inyanbosndata) is that of a natural obelisk, which 
 Natural occurs on a low and sandy plain four miles to the north of the 
 obelisk, crossing place, on the " north fork of La Hontan river." This 
 heap of disintegrated sandstone rock is 36 feet high. It is a curious speci- 
 men of the weathering of the sandstone of the west, that may be compared 
 to the earth pillars lelt behind by workmen to mark the extent of their ex- 
 cavations, and is possibly a relic of the thickness of the formation previous 
 to the devastating agency of the elements, that has altered the original level 
 of the surface of the country. My friend, the Viscomte de Montmort, (then 
 an attache to the French legation at Washington, who accompanied me in 
 this excursion,) has furnished me with an admirable drawing of it, as well 
 as of the natural monument next to be mentioned. 
 
 Twelve miles north of the natural obelisk which I have just described, 
 near the crossing-place of the Vermillion river, there are other 
 evidences of the great denudation of the surface that has taken 
 place in this region. One of them is also remarkable by its symmetrical 
 outlines, bearing the appearance of a dilapidated castle of feudal limes — 
 such as are seen in the Alps and other places ; hence its name. I have 
 thought it of sufficient importance to indicate their situations on my map. 
 These natural monuments are mentioned by Mr. Featherstonhaugh upon 
 mformation receisred from others ; but he did not visit them. 
 
[ 237 ] 22 
 
 The other regions of country thiat I might allude to in this place having 
 been aenerally well described in the reports of geological surveys made by 
 D D^Owen, M. D., and Dr. John Locke, and m other publications con- 
 cernino- the settled portions of the Iowa Territory, and of the northern dis- 
 tricts oi: the State of Missouri, 1 shall confine myself to an account of some 
 of the most important rivers that merit a conspicuous place in the geography 
 
 of the United States. . . . , , • i 
 
 Iowa river, several miles before it enters the Mississippi, has been mainly 
 . supplied by two branches of unequal length and importance. 
 Re7Jedar The eastern branch (which is the longer of the two) is called 
 rivers. Red Cedar river; and its headwaters are not far trom those ot 
 the La Hontan. It so happens, contrary to the received principles of de- 
 scriptive ^eocrraphy, that Red Cedar river loses its name after emptying into 
 the shorter b'rauch'. which maintains that of the Iowa. It is true, that these 
 names were established before it was known which of the two was the more 
 important. To Albert C. Lea, esq., must be assigned the credit of having 
 first laid down the course of Red Cedar river, the whole length of which is 
 not less than 350 miles, and wliich is probably navigable for IbU miles out 
 of these. After quitting the sandy plains mentioned above, it pours rapidly 
 over a series of ledges of the carboniferous limestone, until it reaches a mucli 
 lower level, where it deposites many sand bars, the soil of which is congenial 
 to a viaorous growth of the red cedar ; whence the river derives its name. 
 
 The^Des Moines is one of the most beautiful and important tributaries 
 D.- Moines of the Mississippi north of the Missouri ; and the metamorphosis 
 river. which its name has undergone from its original appellation, is 
 curious enough to be recorded. 
 
 We are informed that Father Marquette and Mr. Joliet, during their voy- 
 age in search of the Mississippi, having reached the distance of sixty leagues 
 below the mouth of the Wisconsin, observed the footsteps of men on the 
 riffht side of the great river, which served as a guide for these two celebrated 
 explorers to the discovery of an Indian trail, or path, leading to an extensive 
 prairie, and which they determined to follow. Having proceeded about two 
 leatTues, they saw first one village on the bank of a river, and then two others 
 upon a slope, half a league off from the first. The travellers, having halted 
 within hailing distance, were met by the Indians, who offered them their 
 hospitalities, and represented themselves as belonging to the Illinois nation. 
 The name which they ffave to their settlement was Moinngoinnas, (or 
 Moino-ofia, as laid down m the ancient maps of the country,) and is a cor- 
 Tuptio°n of the Algonkin word Mi/v0.va»^, signifying af Me roarf; the. In- 
 dians by their customary elliptical manner of designating localities, alluding, 
 in this instance, to the well known road in this section of country, which 
 they used to follow as a communication between the head of the lower 
 rapids and their settlement on the river that empties itself into the Missis- 
 sippi, so as to avoid the rapids ; and this is still the practice of the present 
 inhabitants of the country. , ^f • ; 
 
 Now, ofier the French had established themselves on the Mississippi, 
 they adopted this name ; but with their custom (to this day, that ot the 
 Creoles) of only pronouncing the first syllable, and applying it to tne 
 river, as well as to the Indian's who dwelt upon it ; so that they would say 
 " la riviere des Moins'^-^^ the river of the Moins ;" ^^aller chez les Moms 
 —to cro to the Moins (people.^ But, in later times, the inhabitants as- 
 
23 [ 237 ] 
 
 sociated this name with that of the Trappist monks [inoines de la Trappe) 
 who resided on the Indian mounds of the American bottom. It was then 
 conchided that the true reading of the riviere des Moins was the '• riviere 
 des MtAnes^'' or river of the monks, by which name it is designated on ail 
 the modern maps. 
 
 The Des Moines empties into the Mississippi in 40*^ 22' lat. N. ; and its 
 sources, heretofore supposed to be in 43°, are extended on my map to 44^^ 
 3' N. It is fed from the beautiful group of lakes, previously described as 
 the Slieiek lakes, towards the middle of the plateau of the Coteau des Prai- 
 ries, at an elevation of 1,580 feet above the level of the sea. The waters of 
 these lakes flow from NW. to SE., sweUing themselves by innumerable 
 tributaries until they enter the Mississippi at an elevation of about 444 feet 
 above the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 The course of the Des Moines cannot be less than 400 miles ; whence 
 it would follow that the average of its descent is nearly three feet to the 
 mile, with a current approaching in velocity that of the Missouri. The 
 river flows constantly in a deep valley, from its sources to within a i^^ 
 miles of its confluence with the Mississippi, where it spreads over low 
 grounds. In its upper part, its bed is upon sand, rolled pebbles, and shin- 
 gle, (gallets.) 
 
 Like most of the rivers in this region, it has its sources in lakes and 
 swampy grounds, and has a tortuous and sluggish course until it reaches 
 a greater declivity about 43° of latitude, where it becomes much more 
 rapid and direct, and frequently pitches impetuously over rocky beds of 
 carboniferous limestone forming frequent bluffs on alternate sides. This 
 rock, which might furnish an abundance of excellent building materials, 
 is overlaid in some places by deposites of coal. Penned up, as it were, 
 between the valleys of the Mississippi and the Missouri, and those of their 
 adjacent tributary streams, the Des Moines has no large tributary of its 
 own. Flowing through a wide and deep valley, the principal waters 
 which it receives are the drainings through deep and long ravmes, inter- 
 secting its shores, and rendering the travel along them inconvenient and 
 painful. The only tributary streams of any consequence, are Racoon Fork, 
 and perhaps Lizard and Cedar rivers, on the right ride ; Boone's river and 
 Moingonan's Brother, on the left. Yet, in the spring of the year, the Des 
 Moines may be navigated by flat-boats that would carry the produce of the 
 upper country to the head of steamboat navigation, v/hich maybe one hun- 
 dred and fifty miles from its mouth. But as my assistant, Lieut. Fremont, 
 iias made the surveys to ascertain the spot to which steamboats of different 
 burdens may ascend from the Mississippi, I refer to his report for more am- 
 ple details. 
 
 The Sioux or Ndakotalt Indians call the Des Moines Lii/ansha-s/ia- 
 7oa(pa, or Redstone river — from inyan, stone ; sha s/ia, reduplication o( sha^ 
 red ; and watpa, river. They call the upper east fork lay an sha sha icatpa- 
 sunkaku, the brother of Redstone river. This is the tributary which I 
 have precedingly called Moingonan's Brother. 
 
 The union of the Moingonan with its brother forms what is also called 
 the upper fork, which is in the midst of a fine grove, embracing an area of 
 several miles, affording good soil and water-power. This grove will soon 
 be the centre of a populous settlement. 
 
 Whilst writing these pages, I am informed that all the lands on the 
 
[ 237 ] 24 
 
 Moingonan and its tributaries, below this point, have been purchased frona 
 the Sac and Fox Indians, who continue their destined westward progress, 
 closely followed by the white man, eager to possess so beautiful a country. 
 
 The hydrographical relations of the Des Moines with the Mankato, St. 
 Peter's, and Mississippi rivers, present a geographical incident of some in- 
 terest. By referring to the map, in lat. 43° 45', long. 9.5'^ 12', it will be 
 seen that there is a lake very near the Des Moines named Tckanshetcha, 
 or Dry Wood lake. The V/atomcaii river, which is a tributary to the 
 Mankato, that empties itself into the St. Peters, has its source in this lake. 
 INow the tongue of land separating the Des Moines from Tchan shetcha 
 lake, is not more than a mile to a mile and a half broad ; so tha't, were a 
 canal cut across, the waters of the Des Moines would be made to commu- 
 nicate with those of the St, Peter's. 
 
 The importance of this communication may be made sensible by a 
 knowledge of the fact, thnt the Indian traders dependent on the American 
 Fur Company have frequently spent the winter at the head waters of the 
 Des Moines. On one occasion, Mr. Joseph Laframboise, failing in his means 
 of transportation by land, had a large canoe built, which he loaded with his 
 peltries, took water upon the Tckanshetcha, descended the Watrmwan and 
 the Mankato, and arrived safely at the St. Peter's station. I mean only to in- 
 dicate at present, however, what will at a future day form an obvious fea- 
 ture in the system of internal improvement of these regions, so new in the 
 geography of the United States, by which this extensive and beautiful ter- 
 ritory might be rendered circumnavigable. I hasten to get back to the 
 Mississippi. 
 
 The LoiDcr or Des Moines Rapids, on ascending the Mississippi, are 
 Lower or ^^^ hundred and four miles above St. Louis, and beyond the 
 Des Moines month of the Des Moines, whence they derive their name, which 
 Rapids, ^yjjs given to them by tlie first French settlers who opened the 
 fur-trade in this part of the Mississippi, long before it was known that the 
 Des Moines had any places in its course that could be considered as rapids. 
 
 The spot at which the first difficulties in the navigation of the rapids are 
 encountered, is about three quarters of a mile beyond Keokuk, and four 
 miles above the mouth of the Des Moines ; thence the rapids ascend nearly 
 up to Montrose, where, but a few years back, was situated Fort Des Moines, 
 and opposite to which is Commerce, which has but lately changed its name 
 to Nauvoo, and has become a Mormon settlement. 
 
 In .lanuary, 1838, Congress ordered a survey of the rapids, which was 
 intrusted to Captain R. E. Lee, of the corps of encjineers. By his estimate, 
 the length of the rapids is eleven miles, with a foil of twenty-four (24) feet. 
 Here the Mississippi tumbles over ledges of a blue limestone, at all times 
 covered with more or less water, and through which many crooked chan- 
 nels have been worn by the action of the current. Durins: low stages of 
 the water, the passage of the rapids is very difficult, as well in consequence 
 of the shallowness of the water as the narrowness and tortuousness of the 
 channel ; so that the time of practicable steamboat navigation is shortened 
 by nearly three months in the year, which is about the duration of low 
 water in the river. 
 
 Captain Lee had commenced a system of improvements, that has, un- 
 fortunately, been suspended, to the great detriment of the country ; for 
 without the completion of such improvements as had been so judiciously 
 
 J 
 
25 [ 237 ] 
 
 devised and commenced, the immense resources of the beautiful region of 
 country north of the rapids, in IlHnois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, will remain 
 unavailable. In the winter of 1836-'37, f was a witness that $15 were 
 paid for flour, and i$25 for barrelled pork, at St. Peter's, which at St. Louis 
 had probably respectively cost but $5 and $8, because the steamers loaded 
 with winter provision had not been able to cross the rapids during the pre- 
 ceding fall. 
 
 The uplands that border on the rapids are based upon the mountain or 
 ^ carboniferous limestone, as the contained fossils indicate. The 
 e^ ogy. jif^-jgjjtQjjg^ Qf ^ (]irty color, and much broken up, is the matrix of 
 numerous siliceous and calcareous geodes. Those fine geodes picked up 
 by all travellers, are found on the banks of the rapids, having fallen from 
 the adjoining bluflis. Within a few years there has been a road opened 
 leading (o Warsaw, and, being cut along the blufl", has exposed to view 
 the stratum in which the geodes occur, and their position therein. They 
 are observed to be slightly compressed, their greater axes being parallel 
 to ihe stratification of the limestone, which is horizontal. As I have col- 
 lected a number of them, I shall describe mineralogically a few of those 
 that have appeared to me the most interesting in their mineral associations, 
 viz: 
 
 1. Siliceous geodes, the cavity of which is filled with prismatic crystals of 
 
 limpid quartz, (quarz hyalin.) 
 
 2. Siliceous geodes, filled with crystalline quartz, the pyramidical termina- 
 
 tions of which are of a red color. 
 
 3. Siliceous geodes, filled with crystallized calcareous spar, (variety, eyi 
 
 iete f/e clou of Haiiy.) 
 
 4. Silico-calcareous geodes, with rhombic calcareous spar. 
 
 5. Silico-calcareous geodes, with confusedly crystallized calcareous spar. 
 
 6. Siliceous geodes, enclosing calcareous spar and crystalline sulphuret of 
 
 zinc. 
 
 7. Siliceous geodes, containing mamelonated chalcedony, of a red color. 
 These geodes vary in size from four or five inches in diameter to twelve 
 
 or fifteen. 
 
 Warsaw is situated directly opposite the mouth of the Des Moines, 
 ^ partly at the foot, partly on the top of the bluflf that overlooks the 
 Mississippi. This is a very advantageous position, as it forms a 
 natural depot for the products of the back parts of Illinois and those 
 descending the Des Moines. Moreover, it is at Warsaw that the steam- 
 boats that cannot cross the rapids stop, to discharge their cargoes into 
 keel-boats that transfer them to the steamers at the head of the rapids; 
 the same keel-boats bringing, in return, freight for the steamboats on the 
 descending trade. 
 
 Between the lower and upper rapids, a distance of about one hundred 
 and thirty miles, the navigation of the Mississippi is perfectly safe. Its 
 valley swells out considerably, especially about the confluence of the 
 larger rivers coming from the northwest ; the entrances to which are con- 
 cealed by a number of low islands and sloughs, that, at some seasons, aftect 
 the salubrity of the surrounding country. Occasionally, however, the high- 
 lands approach the river, and emigrants take advantage of such positions 
 to multiply the sites of new villages and towns. 
 
[ 237 1 26 
 
 Burlington is one of these newly-builtup towns, beautifully situated 
 Buriinston. °" tlie west bank of the Mississippi, aloncr the slope of a bluff 
 nnti.p h , ^^^^"f '"^^ northerly to tte Flint river. It deserves a passing 
 ?h 'Uppe'r Sii.;;-" """^ '''' ''^'^^^ ^' ^^^ '-- -P^^^ -^h'^^.at of 
 
 r>.Ji;^^°"''7'"^,''^^'°" ^""^'^'^^ ^^'^ ^^''^'^^ subdivisions according to 
 niineraoa.cal and oryctognostical distinctions of character at Burlin5oP 
 and in the descending order : 'luu^iui., 
 
 1. Superficial soil . . oc x- » 
 
 2. Chert ' - - • - - 2 « 
 
 3. Yellow limesione with spatic encrinites and productce * 10 " 
 
 4. Calcareous argillaceous marl with kw fossils - - 3 <= 
 
 5. biliceous limestone - - . . . q cc 
 
 6. Oolitic limestone with jiroductce - - .' ' 9. a 
 
 7. Bluish clay -...__ o .^ 
 
 8. Yellow compact limestone - - . . ' 3 « 
 
 9. Compact siliceous limestone with veins of calcareous spar -" 8 " 
 
 10. Oolitic limestone - . . . . ^ \ ^^ 
 
 11. Saccharoidal blue limestone, with veins of calcareous spar ^ 
 
 and impressions of small orthis and strophomena - i » 
 
 C/>;jer or Rock River Rapids, so named from their proximity to Rock 
 pY.Tp'' nver, above the mouth of which they are. On approaching 
 X^"" o?h7'^'^'' V^' "ft"' "^ '•'^ Mississippi, there is presented 
 whole west. ""'^"^ ^' beautiful a prospect as can be met with in the 
 
 nn?'',^ni''^"'^.''°'"^' '"? ''^f'^ ^°^^'^^ ^^^'1 ^ ™«st luxuriant vegetation, 
 ^nd made picturesque by the ruins of an old fort; whilst the town of 
 Stephenson, and that of Davenport, with the beautiful range of sloping 
 hills in the rear of it, help to form so winning a landscapS, as alone tS 
 account for the rapidity with which settlements multiply in this potion 
 of the Mississippi. Other more substantial inducemenfs, how;ver are 
 dS ni h^''? ^-nmigrant, in the fertile lands that extend to 'a conside ab e 
 distance back on both shores of the river 
 
 isl^d^nTnni ""l 1^' y^\i^ from fourteen to fifteen miles from Rock 
 
 thP f II . H 't'^'"^'- .According to the surveys of Captain R. E. Lee, 
 fivP H h ' ^^^^^^^^«'PP>' f'-om the head to the foot of the rapids, is twenty-' 
 five and hree-quarters (25.74) feet. The waters roll over a bed of lime- 
 water Tnh' f n''^ ''''''''' sometimes reach quite across, so as at low 
 L!= ff f very shallow; or,.projecting and interlocking from opposite 
 sides afford nothing but winding, difficult, and dangerousl^hannels.^^ 
 is ^.V^Lu "''''/' ''^^ '^«"'''' ^'''> ^'•^^ ^^'^^ o^'er the lower rapids, 
 sofhrSp i^''^'''''^.^'^'''''''^^''' '^'^ '^^^' ^-^"d 'e^s in the channels 
 contimallV.r.TH^^ current, varying with the descent, and being 
 
 sionid Iw ^h '^-^^ '^', '''^>' ^''^ "^ '^^ ^i^e^' "^^ tortuousness, occa" 
 
 sioned by the projecting ledges above referred to, though not so g eat as 
 
 ThP H r ,f"" '^""'^ predicate, is still rapid and difficult to overcome. 
 Ihe difficulty consists mainly, however, in the short turns and narrow- 
 
27 [ 237 J 
 
 ness of the passes between the reefs, which oblige boats to cross the cur- 
 rent in an oblique direction, running the risk of being dashed against the 
 rocks. As a matter of course, the descending boats, being swept along by 
 the current, run the greatest risk. But Captain Lee has shown that it is 
 practicable to remove these obstacles. So as to afford a safe passage up and 
 down both of the rapids. 
 
 The general government is certainly interested in hastening these pro- 
 jected improvements ; having annually considerable supplies to send to the 
 already established military posts of Prairie du Chien, the St. Peter's, and 
 others that will probably soon be required ; as well as to facilitate future 
 transactions with the Indians, which the onward marchof events so plainly 
 indicates must, of necessity, take place before long. 
 
 But here, again, as 1 have been anticipated by Dr. Owen, I must return 
 to the Coteau des Prairies. 
 
 1 have already stated, I think, that the lower portion of the Coteau des 
 Southwest Pi'ftiriss forms two spurs ; one of which turns off the rivers that 
 side of the have been precedingly described into the Mississippi, the other 
 Coteau des juto the Missouri. The divisional line of these two spurs is 
 rairie.-. plainly indicated by the course of the Des Moines from 43° 30' of 
 north latitude ; and the one now referred to is a prominent ridge, separating 
 the waters that empty into the Des Moines from those that flow westwardly 
 into the Missouri. But, as it falls off in a very gradual slope when it has 
 reached already 42*^ of latitude, the head-waters then take first an E. and 
 afterwards a SSE. direction, and are divided from each other only by mod- 
 erate swells or undulations of the country, that cause them to ramify into 
 a fain of streams, carrying their waters, after long ramblings, easterly to 
 the Mississippi, and southerly to the Missouri, until they finally unite. 
 
 To the north and west oi Nadoway^ or Snake river — meaning a particu- 
 lar species of snake — several important streams take their rise on that side 
 of the Coteau des Prairies 1 am now considering, to empty themselves, of 
 course, finally, into the Missouri. I shall now give an account of those 
 which appear to be least generally known. 
 
 The name of this river implies that there is a rock somewhere along its 
 Inyan-yanke course.* It has been heretofore designated as the Little Sioux 
 rivpr.orLii- river, and has its origin from a group of lakes, the most import- 
 tie Sioux. ant of which is called by the Sioux Miniwakan^ or Spirit 
 Water ; hence its name of Spirit lake. This lake has a triangular form ; 
 
 . . being about seven miles wide at its largest extremity, and 
 
 ''"' ^^^' seven miles in length. It is not remarkably well wooded ; the 
 smaller lakes to the north of it being better supplied in this respect. 
 
 This is the Big, or simply the Sioux river, and is one of the most im- 
 Tchan-kasn- portance to the country through which it flows. Its Indian 
 data river, or name means that it is continuously lined with wood. Its 
 Sioux river, sources are at tlie head of the Coteau des Prairies, not more 
 than a mile from those of the St, Peter's, and separated only by a low ridge, 
 
 * Inyan-yanke river is said to be navigable for canoes. As I saw but the two extremities of 
 this river, and having obtained no reliable information concerning its intermediary courses, I 
 do not insist on iis accurate represcniaiion on my map. I may most probably have placed it 
 too high up one of its tributaries— the Olcheyedan—a name derivedfrom a small hill, the literal 
 meaning of which is " the spot where they cry ;" alluding to the custom of the Indians to re- 
 pair to elevated situations to weep over their dead relations. 
 
[ 237 ] 28 
 
 S w fh'^^oSn""! ' ^"^ ''"' oPPOf'iinily 1" observe. Its leneth cannot 
 te less than 350 mtles ; in which distance, there are Iwoprincipf bends-!- 
 
 onlJ 2 , 'T '" ^^ •■""' '"""" ^'"S lerminated by a faM, said o be thl 
 on y obstacle tons enure nav.galioi.. From this ci>cums taiice the unne? 
 Trl ';"™^'°''',°L'°"'"''«""'^ "><> Sioux calhns it (i^X ;, alX, 
 or Crooked nver ; and the French la rhiire Croche. Inflows throi c^h a beaS 
 
 of tie St I eter sand Missouri, have always kept lip summer establish 
 
 seats 0? "he ^ear "'" '""''^'""^ '""^'''^ '" ^ °'^' ^^''h here at alf 
 dalo Token "oVTj'^h" m""^*' "*•"''' ?'"<='■ """ *.s river Tchan.kasa- 
 
 JJL K^SSf ""-?-" ^x^:i^ 
 
 jmiJn?^. conspicuous in the eyes of those among whom he was s" 
 
 '^"''"''Tafci' whS'^h^l'' '"f .''"'S' miles long. It issues from two 
 Wa^sechn, jX'wSA *■ '■^"ch have named Lac, au.v Bois legers- 
 or Venmi- '-.'ghl-wood lakes. Near its entrance into the Missouri it forks • 
 I,o„r„er. owing ,o a remarkable promontory that juts out of the p ° ?fe' 
 
 not lime to ecoum T?'' ""'*'^ "^""T, ™"»"'i<= '^''''i''''^ th^l ha" e 
 
 we™ the Vh" T" ?^ "'■ ="" '^''"'"^ prairil, al!ou 50 mfe oi . b1 
 tween the Ichan-lcasndata and the Missouri rivers ■• lnvin» .VmV,„ L 
 
 oZosn;"',"';^'"™!^'^? "'"' '"'' ^""'^- Sni'ofT,: 1 e V 1 mi' 
 
 lies the hydro^raphical basin of the Upper Missouri Rnf ZfnLT u 
 
 Bluffs and tir.SuJh rfTe Pla^t"e ri™r °" '"' *'""''"' '"'"^^" '^•°""''' 
 
 of?h''ls7e';;r^Th:;wm'tetu„1^r''"''''''=''l,'"^"'°"'•" '" "PP™"- A 
 of^he^MLiiippt^f^^ 
 
29 [237] 
 
 Pierre Chouteau, to the confluence of the two rivers, are in the ratio of 
 45 to 85 : in other words, the average rapidity of the Missouri is nearly 
 twice that of the Mississippi. 
 
 These rates are far from being the limits of navigation by ordinary pow- 
 er, which I believe to be laid down within a fallof two feet to the mile. 
 This explains, in reference to the Mississippi, how it is that steamboats of 
 great power are now able to ascend in five or six days the great distance of 
 1,286 miles between New Orleans and St. Louis, which formerly required 
 more than two months to eifect by human labor. The fatigue was then so 
 great, that it is not v/onderful that the rapidity of the current should have 
 been greatly exaggerated, so as to have suggested the epithets of powerful 
 and terrible Mississippi. 
 
 As to the Missouri, there are other difficulties that present themselves to 
 its navigation, even by steamboats, besides the rapidity of the current ; and, 
 among these, the principal and most insurmountable are the constant shift- 
 ing of its sand-bars. If, in this respect, the Missouri is to be deemed un- 
 improvable, this is not the case with the Mississippi along a very extensive 
 portion of its course. It is evident that, in alluding to the obstacles in the 
 navigation of these rivers, I have no reference to accidental accumulations 
 of drift-wood, or the occurrence of snags, that are entirely within the con- 
 trol of man, and will completely disappear with the progress of civilization. 
 The Mississippi is one of the easiest navigable rivers in the world, as it is 
 one of the longest ; and its course only requires to be a little more studied, 
 to render us perfect masters of it. 
 
 Referring once more to the table of geographical positions, the difference 
 of level of the valleys of the two rivers under consideration may be deter- 
 mined. Thus, if I take the level of the Missouri at Council Blufis, and 
 that of the Mississippi at Rock islands, the localities differing but slightly in 
 latitude, (41 ^^ 30',) we obtain for respective elevation of each above the 
 Gulf of Mexico, 1,023 feet for the former place, and 528 for the second. 
 In the same way, if two other places ^n more elevated latitudes are com- 
 pared — such as Fort Pierre Chouteau on the Missouri, and the lower end 
 of lake Pepin on the Mississippi, both in latitude 44° 24' — we obtain 1,456 
 feet for the elevation of the first, and 710 feet for that of the second. 
 These numerical relations establish the fact, that the average level of the 
 Missouri valley above the ocean is nearly twice more elevated than that of 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 From these considerations alone, we would expect to find the compara- 
 tive vegetation of the country between St. Louis and the above-mentioned 
 limits to exhibit a change, not only on account of a change in the lati- 
 tude and in the nature of the soil, but also a variety due to a difference of 
 elevation. Accordingly, Mr. Geyer has observed that the great luxuriance 
 of the growth in the valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi, and even the 
 uplands, is much diminished on reaching the mouth of the Platte river 
 on one side, and the vicinity of Rock island on the other. Further : that, 
 within the limits of this zone, we find gradually disappearing the most 
 conspicuous members of the forest, as the sycamore, the pekan tree, 
 the shell-bark hickory, pignut hickory, white walnut, pin and overcup 
 oaks, the honey locust, &c., together with many smaller trees and plants : 
 as the buckeye, persimmon, sassafras, truraj^t flower, ginseng, May ap- 
 ple, <fcc. 
 
[ 237 ] 30 
 
 From the mouth of the Platte river the forests are narrower. The prin- 
 cipal trees are the American and red elm, the soft maple, Canadian poplar, 
 white and red ash ; the most common undergrowth, horse-briar, fox and 
 false grapes, red root, gray dogwood, currant, and gooseberry, with shrubs 
 and dc3nse rushes along the banks of the river. The same trees and shrubs 
 grow on the numerous islands, that are generally bordered with black and 
 long-leaved willows. In the higher situations, and at the head of creeks, 
 we meet vviili the black walnut and mulberry, bass-wood, nettle-wood, in- 
 termingled with the common hawthorn, prickly ash, «fcc. On the high 
 grassy or rocky banks, the black and bar oaks consiitute the principal 
 growth, but occasionally intermixed with the wild cherry, red cedar, horn- 
 bean, wild roses, and sumach. The low prairies bordermg the rivers have 
 a deep, fertile soil, and abound with sedge grasses and leguminous plants. 
 Finally, taking a pictorial view of the country, the verdure of its hills and 
 prairies affords a pleasing contrast with the naked sandbars in the rivers. 
 
 I have been thus particular in describing the vegetation of this part of 
 the country, not only as a feature in its physical geography, but as a point 
 of comparison with the more northerly regions which 1 have yet to de- 
 scribe. For the same reason, I shall now proceed to lay down the most 
 prominent traits of its geology. 
 
 The predominant rock in this region of country to which I am now re- 
 ferring — namely, from the Platte river to Council Bluffs — is the carbonif- 
 erous or mountain limestone, well characterized by its fossils, consisting 
 principally of the joro<:/Mc/a/o6a^a, producta ■punctata^ orihis, deUh?jris, tur- 
 binolia fungites, crinoldal remains^ <fec.; most of these genera affording 
 several new species as yet undescribed. 
 
 This formation is a continuation of that which underlies so vast ah ex- 
 tent of the Mississippi valley, but having a much larger development over 
 the States that are to the east of this river, and extending even to the Al- 
 leghanies. It is the support of important coal-basins, and rests upon a 
 group of Silurian rocks, beginning at the falls of St. Anthony, extending 
 Itself from north to south, constituting the mineral regions of Iowa, the 
 Wisconsin, and the Missouri, and losing itself somewhere in the State of 
 Arkansas. This last-mentioned group is bounded at the north by amphi- 
 bolic rocks, steaschists, and clay slates, that extend to beyond 47° of N. 
 latitude ; and at the south, also, by steaschists and clay slates, that compose 
 the principal rocks at Little Rock in the State of Arkansas ; and also those 
 ot the Washita mountains. These rocks are referrible to certain members 
 of the group to which Mr. D'Homaluis d'Halloy has given the name o[ ter- 
 rain ardoisier, and have their equivalent in the series of iha grauivacke 
 of German geologists. Thus, by this distribution of the geological forma- 
 tions, it would seem that, more particularly to the west of the Mississippi, 
 the Silurian group is imbedded within the "terrain ardoisier," or grau- 
 wacke, just as the carboniferous series, with its coal measures, overlies the 
 Silurian. 
 
 From what 1 have so far said of the geology of the west, it will be 
 perceived that I have adopted the classification of the older tbssiliferous 
 rocks, as laid down by its illustrious author, Mr. Murchison. But I 
 must confess that I hesitated about it a long time; notwithstanding the 
 opinions of my friends MM. Vanuxem and Conrad, both distinguished 
 geologists and conchologists, who had recognised among my fossils irre- 
 
31 [ 237 3 
 
 cusable evidences of the occurrence of a silurian group in the west. Hav- 
 ing attached too much importance to the term " old red sandstone f seeking, 
 in vain, over the country that I was exploring, an equivalent for it, either 
 mineralogical or pala3ontological, which would enable me to separate the 
 carboniferous from tlie silurian system, unless I chose to find it in the sand- 
 stone on the St. Louis of lake Superior, or that of the environs of Little 
 Rock, in the Arkansas ; and not fieeling authorized to do so, from the absence 
 of fossils — fearing, moreover, that these rocks were actually beyond the 
 limits of the system under consideration, as I said before, I could not but 
 "hesitate. However, having recently become acquainted with the learned 
 papers read in 1S40 before the Geological Society of France, by Messrs. 
 Murchison and De Verneuil — one " on the Devonian rocks of the Boulon- 
 nais ;" the other '• on the importance of determining the limits between the 
 mountain limestone and the inferior formations," — a new light was afforded 
 me ; all my doubts were dissipated ; and I then saw the necessity, in iden- 
 tifying the relative ages of rocks, and especially those separated from each 
 other by long intervals of country, to attend exclusively to their fossil con- 
 tents. 
 
 Starting, then, from this principle, I think I can confidently offer indu- 
 bitable proofs of the occurrence of the Devonian rocks on the Missouri 
 river. 
 
 In latitude 4U° 50', and longitude 95*^ 42' from Greenwich, eighteen 
 miles below Platte river, there is a locality known by the name of " Five 
 Barrels island." Opposite to that group, and on the right side of the river, 
 a bluff, at the termination of a series of rocky banks, is separated by a small 
 creek from another series called Cotes de la Platte. At the base of the bluff 
 there is — 
 
 1st. A compact argillaceous limestone of a bluish color, from one to two 
 feet thick; soft under water, but hardening when exposed to the air; it 
 weathers into thin plates, presenting an uneven- surface ; on which there 
 are impressions of euomphali, but too indistinct to be specified. 
 
 2d. A compact argillaceous limestone of a yellowish gray color, from 
 six to seven feet thick, containing an abundance of crlnoidal remains, as- 
 sociated with beautiful and large specimens of the ajathophyllum ver77ii- 
 cwZa/c of Goldfuss. This limestone also contains a /jrot/uc^a and an un- 
 known bivalve, together with crystallized bi sulphuret of iron agglomerated 
 into bullets. 
 
 The upmost portion of the bluffs, attaining a height of ISO feet above the 
 river, I remarked to be shadowed by trees over a beautiful green sward ; 
 but I had no opportunity of examining it particularly. 
 
 It may be well to state here, that all such rocky banks as the one just 
 alluded to, noticed by Lewis and Clark, and subsequently by Major Long, 
 arc constantly wearing away ; so that they offer landmarks to the travel- 
 ler only for a limited period of time. But we are not to judge of their 
 oryctognostical character from the detritus found below them ; because 
 this is composed not only of the materials derived from the bluffs, but of 
 others carried down the Missouri during its season of high waters. Among- 
 these materials is the oft-mentioned pu/nice stone, which is brought down 
 from the upper parts of the river. I have ascertained, by a more careful 
 examination than had probably been given to it previously, that it is not 
 a true pumice, but a semivitreous substance, produced by pseudo-volca- 
 
[ 237 ] 32 
 
 noes, that I shall hereafter describe ; the region of which is laid down upon 
 my map. 
 
 On the elevated prairies above the bluffs, the " erratic deposite"' again ap- 
 pears ; amongst v/hich I found, for the first time, fragments of quarzite in 
 every respect similar to that of the Red Pipestone Quarry. I find also noted 
 in my diary, that, on the occasion of paying a second visit to another part 
 of the blutf, the bed of limestone No. 1 rests upon that of No. 2. This 
 error arises from the fact, that on the preceding day I had only the chance 
 of examining the limestone amidst the confused heap of fragments at the" 
 foot of the bluff. 
 
 Mr. Murchison, in his lately published Memoir, refers to a paper by 
 Mr. Lonsdale on the Devonian system, in which that celebrated palaeon- 
 tologist indicates the principal fossils belonging to it ; referring, also, to 
 the species found in Belgium and in France, as well as in Devonshire. 
 In this list of six species enumerated as belonging characteristically to 
 the Devonian system, I find sf.ronibodes vermicularis, or cyathophyllum 
 vermicular e ; and euompltalus radiatus, (Gold.) The cyathophyllum ver- 
 miculare, it appears, is the only species that is found both in the Devon- 
 shire rocks and those of the Boulonnais. Well, now, if we take into 
 account the enormous distance that separates the small group that I have 
 just described, with its equivalent in France and in binglaud, will it be 
 thought hazarding too much to detach it from the place 1 had first assigned 
 to it in the lower mountain limestone, and bring it down to the Devonian 
 system ? 
 
 The group to which I am now referring, and which is at the base of the 
 rocky banks previously described, is very fossiliferous, and has a great ex- 
 tent; though I had no occasion to give it but a rapid examination. 1 may 
 be permitted to hope that naturalists more fortunately circumstanced will 
 discover among it other characteristics by which to complete an identifica- 
 tion with its European equivalents ; thereby stamping upon the new classi- 
 fication of the older fossiliferous rocks an additional proof of contemporaneity 
 as regards the " Far West" of America, which will most probably be veri- 
 fied in time over our whole globe. 
 
 This series of rocks, then, (which I feel necessitated to refer to the De- 
 vonian system, for reasons stated above.) underlying those of the carbon- 
 iferous system, have, consequently, their appropriate place above the 
 Silurian rocks, members of whick are found beyond Wolf river, and again, 
 now and then, in proceeding from bluff to bluff along the Missouri. 
 
 The carboniferous rocks, which form a large and important feature in the 
 geology of this region, are full of fossils, and may be said to offer a new 
 field of exploration to the fossil conchologist in the great number of new 
 species belonging to the genera -producta — delthyris, ort/iis, strophomenay 
 atrypa^ favorites, 6)'q. To indicate the numerous localities where these 
 fossils are variously associated with each other, would only be multi- 
 plying a list of them — which I cannot afford to do in a report, the scale of 
 which hardly leaves room to lay down the great geological divisions of 
 the country. I would only add, that the producta lobata, and producta punc- 
 tata, and the tnrbinoliafungites of Phillips, appear to me to be the charac- 
 teristic fossils of the carboniferous rocks in this region. They occur at 
 localities very distant from each other — between Five Barrels island and 
 Council Bluffs, on the Des Moines ; from Racoon fork to the lower 
 rapids of the Mississippi ; in the vicinity of St. Louis, iSt. Genevieve, &c. 
 
33 [ 237 J 
 
 &c. At the last mentioned locality, on the limestone over which the creek 
 called Gabouri flows, the tnrbinolia fungites and a new species of prodiicta 
 are found associated with the bellerophnii hiulcns, as well as other species; 
 and they are all mineralized into red chalcedony. 
 
 The upper strata of this Gabonri limestone present a beautiful rock 
 with an oolitic structure, which is now quarried for architectural purposes. 
 It is, doubtless, an equivalent of that which occurs in the Burlington group, 
 Iowa. It extends itself to the right and to the left of the Mississippi, to near 
 the Ohio river, and even through Kentucky and Tennessee. My venera- 
 ble friend, Dr. G. Troost, the geologist of the State of Tennessee, was the 
 first who discovered this rock, and very sagaciously pointed out that it had 
 no geological relation with the great ooVilic fo7'maf.ion of Europe. The 
 fossils cont;dned in the oolitic limestone of the Gabouri are obscure and un- 
 determinable ; but, in oiher localities, this rock has yielded pentremites 
 pyriformis^ peiitre/nites fflobosus, pe7if?'cm.itesflorealis, that have been de- 
 scribed by Say, and a fourth species, which is new. 
 
 I have deemed the foregoing digression necessary in order to connect 
 the geology of the country just described, with a more recent formation 
 previously alluded to, with which I am to meet in ascending the Mis- 
 souri. 
 
 Leaving Council Bluffs, the hills on either side are observed to be at a 
 greater distance from the river, which is itself twice its preceding width. 
 The valley is fully fifteen miles wide ; and the broad prairies that carpet it 
 exhibit the same richness of soil and luxuriance of vegetation as those I 
 have already had occasion to describe. The bends on the river have 
 courses of longer radii, and are more multiplied, so as greatly to increase 
 the travelling distance between two spots. The width of the river varies 
 from one-fitth of a mile to two miles. In its widest parts, the navigation is 
 frequently impeded by sand bars and drift-wood ; but, where it narrows, 
 the current flows in a straight, onward direction, between picturesque 
 banks or passages, such as may be seen at the mouth of Little Sioux river. 
 But in those instances, it is easy to discover that these passes are cut off 
 through some of the bends. Thus we could not recognise many of the 
 bends described by Lewis and Clark ; and, most probably, those deter- 
 mined by us in 1839, and laid down upon my map, will ere long have 
 disappeared ; such is the unsettled course of the river. Already have I 
 been informed, in fact, that the great bend opposite Council Bluffs has 
 disappeared since our visit ; and that the Missouri, which then flowed at 
 the foot of the bluff, is now further removed by several miles to the east of 
 it. It is, in this respect, curious to compare our journal of travelling 
 distances with that of Lewis and Clark. They are found always to differ, 
 and sometimes considerably. Yet, on arriving at any prominent station, 
 as the confluence of a large river, the amount of the partial distances com- 
 puted agree as nearly as could be expected from the methods employed to 
 estimate them. 
 
 After a navigation of two days, the hilly country, which had receded 
 from us since our departure from Council Bluffs, came again into sight, and 
 we stopped at the foot of the bluff on the right side of the river. This 
 place affords a beautiful site, formerly occupied by a Mr. Wood, an Indian 
 trader ; and it still bears his name. Having reached this place by night, 
 and as it was fixed that the steamboat was to leave the next morning be- 
 fore day, being very anxious to know whether the geological character o ^ 
 3 
 
[ 237 ] m 
 
 the country had changed or rennained the same, so soon as we had com- 
 pleted our astronomical observations, Mr. Fremont and I ascended the bluff, 
 to obtain specimens of the rock in place. On examining them, I discovered 
 that we were still in the carboniferous formation. 
 
 The next day we passed before the magnificent amphitheatre of hills, 
 the summit of that nearest the river being surmounted by the tomb of 
 Blackbird, a celebrated Maha chief, and murderer by poison, whose his- 
 tory was told in Major Long's first expedition, but has been since repro- 
 duced with various versions in many public prints. Several miles higher 
 up, we got a glimpse of the vale watered by tl;e Maha creek, in which is the 
 principal village of the Maha nation. Tiie hills on the left bank of the . 
 liver, of which we had lost ^ii{ht, again came into view towards the close 
 of the afternoon, covered by a soft and grateful verdure. We stopped 
 before night at the foot of the blufi' on which is Floyd's grave ; my men 
 replaced the signal, blown down by the winds, which marks the spot and 
 hallows the memory of the brave sergeant who died here during Lewis 
 and Clark's expedition. Our steamboat then started under full blast, to 
 take shelter at the mouth of the Tc/ian-kasna'ata, or Sioux river, against 
 an impending storm, that soon after broke over us, and lasted during the 
 whole night. 
 
 I had previously, however, landed a mile or so before reaching the mouth 
 of the Sioux river, on the left bank of the Missouri, to examine a rocky bank, 
 seemingly a continuation of those apparent at Wood's hill. I found it to 
 consist of — 
 
 1st. A carboniferous limestone ; 
 2d. An argillaceous schistose linjcstone. 
 
 The rocks in this locality reach only to an elevation of seven or eight feet 
 above the level of the river ; and 1 take notice of them here, because I am 
 disposed to think that they are the last representatives of the carboniferous 
 series in the ascent of the Missouri, and that the mouth of the Sioux river 
 is the true limit in this direction of the old fossiliferous rocks. 
 
 The next point of importance reached, is the great prairie known by 
 Hnppan- ^^'^ name of Hvppankuley, to which 1 have alluded before, 
 kutey It begins soon alter leaving Sioux river. Here ihe Missouri, 
 Prairie. changing its principal direction, makes a new series of bends ; 
 leaving on either side, accotding to circumstances, prairies of larger or 
 smaller extent. One of these bends brought us very nearly back to the 
 Sioux river, only a short distance from its mouth, which we had left more 
 than half a day before. Lewis and Clark make mention of a similar bend, 
 in the course of their journey, much higher up; but it probably has no 
 existence at this day, as we saw nothing of the kind. In line, after ex- 
 tricating ourselves from the difficulties of such a navigation, on the ap- 
 proach to Ayoway river we found that we had not gone over more than a 
 distance of from twelve to fifteen miles in a direct line. Yet, within this 
 brief space, the aspect of the country has visibly changed in the nature of 
 its vegetation. 
 
 River banks are met with thirty or forty feet high, which are men- 
 tioned by Lewis and Clark as containing alum, copperas, cobalt, <fcc. ; 
 and then, seven miles higher up, there is another succession of river hills 
 of the same character. The weather being very bad, 1 had no chance 
 of visiting these two last named localities; and, moreover, the steamer's 
 next stopping-place was but at the trading-post on the Huppankutey 
 
35 [ 237 ] 
 
 prairie, laid down upon my map. This would have been, at the time, a 
 subject of ^reat regret to me, had I not been informed that, in continuing 
 to ascend the Missouri, I was to meet a series of bluffs of the same char- 
 acter. Accordingly, a third bluff soon presents itself on the right side of 
 the river, and three miles south of the trading-post which was occupied by 
 a Mr. William Dixon. 
 
 Before entering upon a description of this bluff, I would remark that, 
 T,. . ^, ^. as the rocks of which it is composed are the same that con- 
 stantly make their appearance on ascending the river, at the 
 base of the hills that bound the valley. 1 shall content myself with de- 
 scribing them once for all. Moreover, to facilitate the reference which it 
 may be necessary to make to the different geological divisions of a group 
 of rocks which 1 propose to consider under the name of Dixon's group, 
 or Dixon's bluff, (so called by me, after the trader that lived near the 
 spot, and v/ho has been one of iny most devoted guides during my ex- 
 plorations over the great prairies situated more northerly,) 1 shall note tlie 
 divisions of this group, in their ascending order, by the letters of the alpha- 
 bet, viz: 
 
 A. Argillaceous limestone, containing inoceranms bambini, in great num- 
 ber and very much compressed, and so arranged as to give the rock a slaty 
 structure. This stratum sinks below the bed of the river, and consequently 
 its thickness is indeterminable ;. that part of it above the water on the day 
 of my examination was three feet. Starting from this place, and ascend- 
 ing the river, this rock must necessarily disappear below the level of the 
 water. It is probably more conspicuous in the two preceding cliffs I have 
 referred to before, but which I had not an opportunity of examining. The 
 upper portions of the rock that I did examine contain nodules of iron 
 pyrites, being an assemblage of small cubic, cubo octaedral, and octaedral 
 crystals. 
 
 B. A calcareous marl, generally from 30 to 40 feet thick, but at this spot 
 reduced, by a slide, to 15 or 20 feet. Its colors are gray, grayish-blue, and 
 sometimes yellow. It contains but very few fossils. I found, myself, but 
 one orbicula, and what appears to be a tish scale. 
 
 C. This is a slightly ferruginous clay bank of a yellowish color, with 
 seams of selenite, and affording occasionally rounded masses somewhat re- 
 .sembling septaricB. The selenite is in acicular crystals, or in its more 
 usual form of rhombic prisms x'^ariously truncated. 
 
 Such are the three divisions that I have thought necessary to make in 
 this group of rocks, and which are always thus associated as the river is 
 ascended. This group is the basis of the cretaceous formation of the Mis- 
 souri. The upper subdivisions, which I shall have occasion to establish 
 further up, and that are not sufficiently distinct here, will complete an ac- 
 count of this interesting formation. It may not be impertinent to remark 
 in this place, that it is most likely the bluffs between the Sioux and Ayoway 
 rivers, a distance of only twelve miles, are, geologically, similarly consti- 
 tuted as Dixon's bluff; the cretaceous formation rests here on the carbonif- 
 erous or mountain limestone. 
 
 On quitting Huppan-kuley prairie, the entrance to the Wassisha, or 
 Riviere Vermillion river, and that of the riviere Jacques of the French, 
 Jacques, the Tc^an 5a«5an of the Sioux, are passed by in succession. la 
 this interval, the valley hills are at a distance, and the cretaceous forisu- 
 ation is not easily followed up; but, a little further on, it reappears oa 
 
[ 237 ] 36 
 
 the left side, wilh the plateau dividing tlie waters that empty into the 
 Tchan sansan from those that flow into the Missouri. This upland is 
 known as the "Coteau des Prairies du Missouri," or, more shortly, "Coieau 
 du Missouri."' 
 
 The elevated prairies that crown the right bank of the Missouri river, rise 
 gradually in the direction of the Rocky mountains, forming the northern 
 extremity of those steppes, more appropriately designated the Anierkan 
 Desert. Hence, it will be perceived that the river has its bed deeply encased 
 in a valley flanked on the left side by ihe Coteau du Missouri, and on the 
 right by the American Desert. Over a length of 235 miles, comprised with- 
 in this valley between the Nl-obrarah, or "Eau qui-court" river, and Fort 
 Pierre Chouteau, the cretaceous formation exhibits its fullest develop- 
 ment. It may be satisfactorily examined at many places within this 
 range; but a perfect representation of the whole of them may be obtained, 
 if, talcing as a basis the description previously given of Dixon's bluff, 
 there be added to it the modification presented by some of its new mem- 
 bers. 
 
 I may be permitted to think that this cretaceous formation is destined to 
 Cretaceous occupy a conspicuous place in the history of American geology ; 
 formation, and, us I am not aware that any details concerning it are record- 
 ed, I shall now, to the exclusion of other matters, possibly of equal in- 
 terest, say all that I know about it. 
 
 It is necessary, then, in the first place, to take both a geographical and a 
 geological horizon. Tlius, referring to the map : starting, for instance, from 
 the Wichajiohah^ or Scalp Mountain creek, in latitude 43° 8', and visiting, 
 successively, as follows: the hills at the mouth of Whetstone creek ; those 
 in the vicinity of Red Cedar, Snags, and Sailor's Islands, the Mankizitah, 
 or White-earth river, the American river, the Great I3end, (which is the 
 Karmichig-ah of the Sioux,) it will be easy to understand all the circum- 
 stances about which I shall now give an account. 
 
 1st. The stratum A, of argillaceous limestone, observed at Dixon's bluff, 
 has disappeared in consequence of the elevation of the level of the val- 
 ley. 
 
 2d. The calcareous marl B, in horizontal stratification, continues to make 
 its appearance in escarpments of Irom 30 to 40 feet, containing tlie same 
 fossils — namely, orhicula and fish scales. 
 
 Over this bed, or rather between it and the preceding one, there seems 
 to be occasionally found a thin layer of fibrous carbonate of lime ; the true 
 position of which 1 was a long time in determining, as I had discovered 
 fragments of it only among the rubbish at the foot of the bluff. I have 
 since observed it in place above the calcareous marl ; and it is interesting 
 that it is covered with coats of a fossil very much resembling the gryphcea 
 Vomer, but which Mr. Conrad has described under the name of ostrea con- 
 gesta, as will be seen in the catalogue of the fossils belonging to the creta- 
 ceous formation in appendix C. 
 
 It gives me particular pleasure to state, in this place, that, having fur- 
 nished Professor .1. W. Bailey of West Point wilh specimens, from several 
 localities, of this marl, the microscope, under his experienced direction, 
 has led to the discovery of most interesting results. I think 1 cannot do 
 better than give, at least, some extracts from Professor Bailey's communi- 
 cation. 
 
 He says: "I received, with much pleasure, the specimens you kindly 
 
37 [ 237 J 
 
 sent me by Lieut. Barry ; and I would sooner have acknowledged their 
 reception, had I not hoped for the pleasure of an interview with you at 
 Wasliington. * * * * The specimens are exceedingly in- 
 teresting. I found, in two of the specimens of calcareous marl, precisely 
 the same microscopic multilocular shells 1 had previously detected in lime- 
 stones from the cretaceous group of New Jersey. These shells resemble 
 small nautili, and belong to iheforaminifera of D'Aubigny. Great inter- 
 est will be fflt to belong to these American localities, h-om their connexion 
 with the wonderful discoveries of Ehrenberof, who has shown that these 
 minute shells (called by him poli/thalamia) constitute a large portion of 
 chalk, marl, (fee ; and the sandy deserts of Africa are often only a moving 
 mass of these beautiful little organisms. (See the I.ond. and Ed. PhiL 
 Journal, May and June, 1841.)" 
 
 3d. The bed C, composed of a foliated and selenitous clay, acquires 
 interest, as it develops itself in other localities. Its thickness is variable. 
 I have found it 20 feet thick ; and its strata are divided by thin layers of a 
 more indurated white clay. In these several stages, the scleniferous clay, 
 of a yellowish color at the bottom, becomes black and more foliated in its 
 superior beds. The selenite is more abundant; replacing, as it were, the 
 white indurated clay. 
 
 The specimens of selenite obtained from this division of the Dixoa 
 group are worthy of notice, in consequence of the peculiar forms that they 
 assume — some of them presenting the appearance of leaves of trees, beau- 
 tifully and gracefully scolloped; which has encouraged me to venture upon 
 a descriptive name as a mineralogical variety by which to designate them. 
 I call them phylloidal selenite. Others are in the usual shape of six sided 
 regular prisms, " en fer de lance^^ lanciform, radiating, tfec. I have had 
 designs executed of these, among the newest of these forms, that might in- 
 ter(!St the mineralogist. But these, as well as other drawings of fossils, 
 cannot, in the nature of circumstances, find a representation in the present 
 report. 
 
 4ih. The rock desiiznated as D is the last member of the trans Mississip- 
 pian cretacious formation, as it presents itself on the Missouri river: it is a 
 vast deposite of plastic clay, about 2lOO feet thick, which may be considered, 
 however, divided into two equal parts by a stratum of argillaceous carbo- 
 nate of lime in nodules, of which I had no occasion to ascertain the thick- 
 ness. Many of these nodules, having fallen from their origiaal position, 
 are met with in considerable quantities in the beds of the ravines, and in 
 other places. It is known that this variety of iron ore is among the best. 
 Associated with it is a ferruginous sandstone, which presents itself in flat 
 polygons, on the surface of which there are seen numerous concentric lines 
 of great regularity, so as to imitate the transverse sections of a tree. The 
 same deposite contains, disse ninated through it, lumps of the yellowish 
 clay of the inferior stratum C, and enclosing leaves of selenite, and cavi- 
 ties lined with concretionary gypsum. But these lumps are more frequent 
 in the lower half of the deposite than in the upper, and finally cease alto- 
 gether to appear. 
 
 There are also found, throughout the clay deposite, loose pieces of lime- 
 stone, the origin of which I will not attempt to assign precisely ; though 
 they may have belonged to subordinate beds of this rock, that exist 
 somewhere in this formation. I have collected some myself; others were 
 brought to me by my men ; and, as a notification to future geologists who 
 
[ 237 ] 38 
 
 may travel over Ihis region, I signalize them by their mineralogical char- 
 acters. 
 
 1. A cylindrical limestone, resembling arragonite. 
 
 2. Limestone of loose texture, yellow, crossed by small and numerous 
 veins of calcareous spar. 
 
 3. Limestone of a grayish color, with veins of calcareous spar, and in- 
 vested occasionally by dog-tooth spar. [C. carb. metastaslique of Haiiy.] 
 
 4. Grayish limestone, with veins of calcareous spar. 
 
 The interior members of the group that I have just described contain, it 
 is true, but rare and indistinct organic remains. But no richer field could 
 be offered to the fossil conchologist than that presented by the upper por- 
 tions of the plastic clay — by the variety, the abundance, and the beauty of 
 the specimens ; being nearly all new species of ammojiites, baculUes, be- 
 lemiiii.es. fnpjJOtvj.r, cytherea, f.cllina, inoceramus, ^'c. The species, how- 
 ever, which, from its abundance, and the different signs under which it is 
 found, would seem to me to characterize the whole formation, is the inoce- 
 ramus barabini of Morton. 
 
 In appendix C of this report, will be found a list of the fossils in my col- 
 lection, belonging to the cretaceous formation in the Missouri, the descrip- 
 tion and figures of which are given in the Sth volume (1842) of the Jour- 
 nal of the Academy of JNatural Sciences, Philadelphia; to which I beg 
 leave to refer, with my warmest acknowledgments, at the same time, to my 
 learned and modest friend, Dr. S. G. Morton, who has furnished and added 
 to it a tabular view of the organic remains hitherto discovered in the cre- 
 taceous strata of the United States. 
 
 The cretaceous formation now under examination also contains fossil re- 
 mains of vertebrated animals. I must regret tliat opportunities failed 
 me to explore it more thoroughly in this respect. 1 succeeded in ob- 
 taining but a few specimens ; but such as my collection afforded were 
 submitted to the distinguished palocontologist (whom I am likewise proud 
 to name as a friend) Dr. Harlan, who, with his characteristic promptness, 
 furnished me with a description of them, that 1 have appended to the cata- 
 logue above cited. I have only to add, here, that the four specimens 
 there described are also found in the Atlantic cretaceous beds of the 
 United States; thereby confirming the contemporaneity of the chalk 
 formation of the west with that of the east on the continent of North 
 America. 
 
 This cretaceous formation may be considered, I believe, as fairly ex- 
 hibiting the characteristic features in the geology of the Missouri, over 
 an extent of country more than 400 miles in length by water, starting 
 from the mouth of Sioux river ; which latter river is 795 miles from the 
 confluence of the former with the Mississippi to the approach of the 
 Shayen ; which I have laid down on my map as the M'aslitey, or Good 
 river of the Sioux. It will be readily conceived that, as the level of the 
 valley of the Missouri gradually rises, there is a corresponding depression 
 in that of the formation. But what remains of it at the spot where I 
 left it, conjoined to information gathered, leads me to suppose that other 
 traces of it will be found, perhaps, not far from the Yellow Stone river ; 
 so that its whole extent along the Missouri, in a generally NW. course, 
 would be no less than 1,000 miles. As to its western limits, without pre- 
 tending to define these positively, I may state that I have in my possession 
 interesting fragments oi ammonite jylacenta and baculite ovatus, brought to 
 
39 [ 237 J 
 
 me from the clay-banks of the upper part of Shayen and White rivers. It 
 is, therefore, probable that the extent of the formation due VV". is not less 
 than 250 miles by water, along which it is probably open to examination. 
 A few remarks on the physical geography of the region, which remain 
 to be made, may help to confirm this supposition. 
 
 I shall first describe the general aspect of the country. It will be recol- 
 lected that I have represented the whole bed of clay, divided into two por- 
 tions by a band of iron stone, as having a nearly uniform thickness of 
 200 feet, and that it is intermixed with lumps of gypsum and limestone, 
 together with nodules of pyrites; so that a soil produced from such mate- 
 rials could hardly be expected to throw up anything but a meagre vege- 
 tation. It is of a character, too, to bs so acted upon by atmospheric agents, 
 as to exhibit, by the wear and tear of its superficial portions, every variety 
 of fanciful summits — domes, cupolas, towers, colonnades. &c.; imparting 
 to it a remarkably picturesque appearance, especially when contrasted with 
 the dense vegetation that borders the river, and a narrow slip of prairies 
 crowning the summits of the hills that are seen to extend themselves on 
 either side. 
 
 The spirited pencil of Mr. GV-tlin has faithfully represented the pictorial 
 features of this country in some of the sketches contained in the first vol- 
 ume of his travels. 
 
 The same physical causes, under other circumstances, produce new ef- 
 fects, that add to the beauty and grandeur of the scenery. Thus^ the rains 
 furrow and cut through the plastic and seleniferous clay, down to the more 
 resisting limestone ; giving rise to a sort of advancing platform, with a per- 
 pendicular elevation of from 30 to 40 feet, resembling a succession of long 
 lines of parapets. 
 
 But I have now reached the proper place to treat of a very interesting 
 phenomenon observed in the midst of this cretaceous group. It 
 ^canoe'^^or' manifests itself by the occasional appearance of a dense smoke 
 smoking at the top of some conical hill, or along a line of country bound- 
 hills, ed by the horizon, so as to awaken the idea of distant volcanoes ; 
 hence I have chosen to call them pseudo-volcanoes. 
 
 The smoke from these hills and the crevices in the plastic clay, is said 
 to last at the same spot for a long time— say two or three years ; indicating 
 at them a lar^e accumulation of combustible materials. It is not, to my 
 knowledo^e, accompanied by luminous vapors, and is silently wafted along 
 the valley, which it mournfully shrouds. The observance of this phenom- 
 enon, associated with the frequent recurrence of a peculiar light and 
 spongy stone that the Missouri carries down and strews along its shores, 
 and which has been mistaken for pumice-stone, has led to the often contro- 
 verted opinion that there was a volcanic region on the upper Missouri. 
 There are, however, no true volcanoes over any portion of the United 
 Stales east of the Rocky mountains ; and it was this belief that led me to 
 the adoption of the wox^ pseudo-volcano. Neither is the substance found 
 in these regions, and commonly called pumice, a true pumice; and, by a 
 similar analogy to that which has prompted the name of its probable ori- 
 gin, I have called it a puniiciform stone, {roche pumiciforme.) 
 
 Before proceeding to account for the appearances and circumstances at- 
 tending these smoking hills, 1 must add a few more fiicts concerning their 
 traditional and recorded history. There were none in activity when I as- 
 
I 237 ] 40 
 
 cended the Missouri in 1839 ; and so would seem to have been the case at 
 the passage of Lewis and Clark at the beginnrng of this century. But, 
 previous to my arrival, since the memorable expedition last referred to, and 
 during a period of three years, they were seen (as my information goes) by 
 many intelligent persons engaged in the fur- trade, all of whom are natu- 
 rally observant, and most of them of unquestionable authority. 1 have no 
 doubt, therefore, of the existence of these hills; and, in truth, upon a dis- 
 tance of 130 miles from Scalp mountain to beyond the Karmichigah, or 
 Great Bend, there is nothing to be seen but a black zone, known to the 
 voyageurs as " /es coles brnlees''' — '■* colli nes brulees,-' — viz: burnt bluffs, or 
 burnt hills. 
 
 In other respects, the character of the vegetation, which is always scant 
 upon this zone, indicates, in a measure, the epochs when it was visited by 
 these subterranean fires; the blacker and more steril parts being the most 
 recently burnt. Tliey are pointed out by the voyageurs, and 1 have indi- 
 cated several on my map. The fossil shells, that 1 have precedingly enu- 
 merated, lose their brilliant opalescent appearance, and are partly calcined, 
 though still preserving their specific distinctions. Layers of the clay are 
 also met wiih, so altered as almost to deserve the mineralogical name of 
 porcellanite ; in fact, all the minerals belonging to the formation exhibit the 
 alterations which might be supposed produced by exposure to that sort of 
 action now to be assigned. 
 
 I believe, and it is also the opinion of my friend Professor Ducatel, to 
 whom I submitted my specimens, that these pseudo-volcanic phenomena 
 may be compared with those described as occurring in other portions of the 
 globe, under the name of ttrraiii.s aniens ; although they are not here ac- 
 companied by the emission of flames. They are evidently due to the de- 
 composition, by the percolation of atmospheric waters to them, of beds of 
 pyrites, which, reacting on the combustible materials, such as lignites and 
 other substances of a vegetable nature in their vicinity, give rise to a spon- 
 taneous combustion ; whilst further reactions (well understood by the chem- 
 ist) upon the lime contained in the clay bed, produce the masses and crys- 
 tals of selenite that are observed in the lower portion of this interesting de- 
 posits. This is the theory which, with some little confidence, we have 
 formed of these pseudo-volcanoes. 
 
 It may be. interesting to future travellers to learn that, in order to collect 
 both fossils and most interesting specimens of crystallized selenite, without 
 taking the trouble of making diggings, it is only necessary to perambulate 
 the zone of plastic clay shortly after it has been washed by heavy rains. 
 Under such circumstances, should they be favored moreover by the reflec- 
 tions of the snn, they will be struck with the appropriateness of the desig- 
 nation of these hills, as applied both by the voyageurs and Indians — name- 
 ly, of shining monnlains. In truth, it is not unlikely that these hills, a 
 portion of ihera attaining an elevation of from 500 to 700 feet above the 
 river, were some of those referred to by the Sioux of the Mississippi, who, 
 conversing with the first white njen v/ho visited them, and long afterwards 
 with Captain Carver, spoke of the shining mountains of the west. 
 
 These (so named) pseudo-volcanoes are not, however, confined to the 
 valley of ihe Missouri. Traces of them are not uufrequently found over 
 the more westerly regions, as flir as the upper portions of the rivers 
 called by the Indians Majikizitah and Washtey. The name of Manki- 
 
41 [ 237 ] 
 
 zitah watpa, usually translated by that of" Whjte Earth river," (or simply 
 White river,) means, mure properly, Smoking Earth river; whence I have 
 concluded that these indications of yseudo volcanoes were at the same time 
 evidences of the recurrence of the upper members of the cretaceous form- 
 ation, the limit of which I have assigned as being somewhere eastward 
 of the Black Hills. The name of " Mauvaises Terres" (bad lands) has 
 been applied to districts cut up into deep and intricate chasas, from which 
 the traveller could hardly hope to extricate himself without the assistance 
 of a good guide, and that are doubtless due to the burning out of their 
 pseudo-volcanoes. 
 
 However this may be, there can be no doubt that the region of country 
 drained by these rivers which I have last mentioned, will present a wide 
 and fertile lieid of discovery to any geologist whose good luck it may be to 
 give it a thorough exploration. For there he will find an opportunity not 
 only of studying the continuation of the secondary cretaceous formation 
 previously described, but likewise of discovering the approach to a tertiary 
 formation ; the equivalents of which are doubtless to be found to the west 
 of the Rocky mountains, as they have already been to the east, on the At- 
 lantic borders. 
 
 1 have reason also to believe, from specimens exhibited to me by the 
 Hon. L. Pratte, (who has made himself familiar with the subject during 
 hi;; repeated journeys to the Yellow Stone river,) that a rich harvest might 
 be confidently expected, in this direction, of bones belonging to the larger 
 mammiferas, such as characterize other portions of the hydrographical ba- 
 sin of the Missouri. Mr. Pratte was kind enough to oi^'ur me very valu- 
 able specimens of this kind ; the acceptance of which 1 felt compelled to 
 decline, owing to the circumstances under which 1 was placed rendering it 
 impossible for me to take charge of their transportation. These fossil re- 
 mains had been collected in the flat country bordering on the Ni obrarah, 
 or "■ Eauqiii- court"" river, at a distance of from 250 to 300 miles from the 
 entrance of this river into the Missouri. 
 
 Fort Pierre Chouteau, or simply Fort Pierre, is the upper limit of my 
 navigation of the Missouri, and of the examination which I 
 Fort Pierre. ^^^^^ ^^ ^j^^ cretaceous formation that borders it. I had been 
 led there by the necessity of stopping to make preparations for my overland 
 journey, which was to take me over the great prairies to the north of the 
 .Missouri. The fort is situated on the right bank of the river, three miles 
 above Teton river, called by the Sioux Watpa-scldcha^ or Bad river ; and 
 frequently by the traders, Little Missouri ; though there is a river of this 
 name higher up, on the same side. 
 
 We ar'rived at the fort on the I2th of June, 1839, having left St. Louis 
 on the 4th of April ; so that we were sixty-nine days in ascending a dis- 
 tance of 1.271 miles, which, on the Mississippi, and with a steamboat of the 
 same power, could have been accomplished in twelve days. 
 
 The Antelope steamboat belongs to the American Fur Company of 
 St. Louis, then under the 'firm of Pratte, Cabane, & Co., afterwards un- 
 der that of Pratte, Chouteau, & Co., and now Pierre Chouteau t^ Co. 
 This steamboat is employed exclusively in the transportation of freight 
 for the use of the company : but, with an enlightened liberality, it never 
 fails to allow its convenience to travellers who are endeavoring to contrib- 
 ute usefully either to the arts or sciences. I am therefore indebted to 
 this spirit of accommodation on the part of the company for my passage, 
 
[ 237 ] m 
 
 as well as that of the persons who accompanied me. We were, moreover, 
 fortunate in having for feUow-travellers two very amiable and intelligent 
 gentlemen, Mr. W. Laidlow and Mr. Kipp — the former going to the fort 
 on the Yellow Stone ; the other, if I am not mistaken, to that on the 
 Maria. 
 
 The steamboat was commanded by a young officer both active and in- 
 telligent, on his first trip to the Upper Missouri, but was aided for the first 
 six liundred miles by the counsel of Major John F. A. Sundford, one of the 
 firm, whose remarkable presence of mind and ingenuity in surmounting 
 difficulties have often excited my admiration. The oilier passengers were 
 various employes of the company, among whom were sixty or seventy Cre- 
 oles, Canadians, and half-breeds, who, in the fur country, are dubbed joor/c- 
 caters, (^inangeurs de lard,) until a more hazardous and useful course of 
 life entitles them to the high qualification oi voyageurs. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the great skill with which the navigation of our 
 boat was managed, and the liigh power that propelled it, our voyage was 
 sometimes interrupted for weeks, owing to the numerous obstacles presented 
 by the river. It would seem that a Missouri pilot ought to possess not only 
 a quick sight, but an intuitive perception to discover Through its turbid wa- 
 ters the channel which yesterday had no existence, presents itself today, 
 and will most probably change to morrow. 
 
 The principal agents of the factory, on my arrival at Fort Pierre, were 
 Mr. P. D. Papin and the late Jacob Hulsey, to whom I feel much indebted 
 for the zeal manifested in aiding me with my preparations. 
 
 All the information that I had been receiving for better than a year that 
 I meditated my voyage of exploration over the regions comprised between 
 the Missouri, the Coteau des Prairies, and the sources of the Mississippi, had 
 resulted in a conviclion that I should not hazard myself in this untravelled 
 country without a force of at least fifty men ; because of the risk of falling 
 in with some hunting camps that are not unfrequently occupied by hostile 
 nations, eager in the pursuit of the buffalo. 
 
 Having foreseen that 1 could not, without difficulty, muster such a force 
 upon the Missouri, I had, during my exploration of the Coteau des Prairies, 
 and of the valley of the St. Peter's, in 1838, taken steps to secure a rein- 
 forcement, vf hich, starting from Lac-qui parle, would meet me at an appoint- 
 ed time and place on the river Jacques. But, in spite of all precautions, I 
 was disappointed in obtaining it ; though, luckily, 1 became sensible of the 
 disappointment only after I had taken a resolution which rendered ihis assist- 
 ance needless; for, until then, the conviction that 1 had it at my command 
 was used to operate upon the " morale'^ of my small squad, by flattering them, 
 under trying circumstances, with the hope (that was fast vanishing from 
 before myself) that we might soon expect all the relief that we wanted. In 
 reference to this, I may be permitted to relate some of the incidents in the 
 outset of this campaign. 
 
 I supplied myself at Fort Pierre with all that I could desire in the way 
 of horses, vehicles, munitions, and provisions ;' but, in respect to men, the 
 post was at that time itself in want, so that it could spare me only six. I 
 had brought up with me from St. Louis only five men, who, for my pur- 
 poses, were certainly worth ten. Four among them had proved them- 
 selves by numerous journeys across the prairies, as well as voyages over 
 the Rocky mountains. One of them was Eticnne Provost, known as 
 Vliomme des tnontag-nes — the man of the mountains. I may remark here, 
 
43 [ 237 ] 
 
 that these western voyageiirs are distinguished from the same set of men 
 who do service on the northern lakes, by their never singing, and, although 
 apparently sullen and discontented, are most faithful, cautious, and coura- 
 geous in the midst of all dangers. The fifth man was Louis Zindel, who 
 had belonged to the Prussian artillery, and, though totally inexperienced as 
 a traveller in the Indian conniry, possessed otherwise many qualifications 
 that rendered him most useful to me. He was a capital maker of rockets 
 and fire-works, which proved very serviceable to me both for defence and 
 for signal. 
 
 Being; at Fort Pierre, I met with a Mr. May, of Kentucky, and a young 
 man from Pembina, who expressed a desire to join ray party, as they were 
 on their way to the Britisli colony situated on Red river of the North. 
 The accession of their company, and the great acquaintance possessed by 
 the former with all things relating to the west, made me rather anxious 
 than otherwise to have them among us. I had previously engaged Wil- 
 liam Dixon as a guide and interpreter, when we stopped at the Huppan- 
 kutey prairie. I now thought it advisable to engage, in the same capacity, 
 Louison Freaiere, and the son of Bapliste Dorion, the interpreter at the post. 
 Both Dixon and Freniere had the reputation throughout the country of 
 being the most adventurous and successful hunters, as well as the most ex- 
 perienced guides. 
 
 On the 1st of July, Provost, whom I had promoted to the rank of head- 
 man, came to announce that all our equipu:ient was in readiness; at the 
 same time Louis Zindel reported that he had prepared his rockets and other 
 defensive missiles; which being duly inspected, I gave orders to have the 
 whole transported to the left bank of the Missouri. The roll being called, 
 it was found that, including Mr. Fremont, Mr. Geyer, and myself, we mus- 
 tered in all a force of nineteen strong. It was but a small one ; but, relying 
 on the pyrotecimics of Louis Zindel, the expectation of meeting with our 
 reuiforcement from Lac-qui-parle, our own good arms, and an abundance 
 of ammunition, we shouted our huzza of dejjarture, and got under way ; 
 not, however, without encountering some difficulties during two days, that 
 I will now relate. 
 
 For the previous two weeks the waters of the Missouri had considerably 
 swollen, so that the breadth, of the river, at the place where we were to cross 
 it, was a mile and a half: the current was very strong, and our passage 
 could not be effected, notwithstanding all the activity and experience of my 
 men, in less than a day and a half. — the afternoon of the 1st, and the whole 
 of the 2d of July. Mr. Fremont, Mr. Geyer, and myself, took advantage 
 of this delay to close our scientific labors on the spot, and to post up our 
 journals and field-books. 
 
 This would be the place to introduce a I'ew historical notices relative 
 to the Indian trade on the Upper Missouri, the introduction of steamboat 
 navigation in 1832, as well as its extension to the Yellow Stone river; 
 due, altogether, lo the enterprise of the American Fur Company of St. 
 Louis. 1 should like to treat here of the distribution of the Indian na- 
 tions in this region of country ; their respective numbers ; and their present 
 relations with the government. I could also give a painful account of the 
 terrible effects (of which I was often mysidf the witness, from 1836 to 1839) 
 of the smallpox; which scourge brought to light before me the strange 
 ideas and superstitions that control the moral existence of these children of 
 
[237] 44 
 
 nature. But the mass of information tlint I have collected would furnish 
 the subject of too many chapters, that mijrht be deemed irrelevant to the 
 present report. I leave Ihem for another occasion. 
 
 On the 2d day of July, at 4 o'clock, p. m., there remained to effect the 
 passage of seventeen horses across the river. But the bark which had been 
 procured was too small and too feeble to support more than the men. It 
 became necessary to urge the horses to swim across — each man of the party 
 taking charge of one horse. It may be well supposed that there was no 
 lack of confusion during this truly perilous ferry; and, to this day, I thank 
 God that men, horses, and baors^iffe were not buried under the slime of the 
 Missouri. The night was passed at the foot of the hills opposite Fort Pierre ; 
 and the next morning, the whole caravan (consisting of nineteen persons, 
 ten cars, and thirty horsf s) were under way, ascending the hill to the Goteau 
 du Missouri above. 
 
 The plateau that crowns the hills just referred to, has an elevation of 
 not more than 5lU feet above the waters of the Missouri ; but its slope on 
 the river side is very steep; so that, referring to the map along its whole 
 length from the Niohrarah river, it will be seen to drain nothing but 
 short creeks. Hence it was with great difficulty, and not until after a 
 lapse of three hours, that we succeeded in reaching the open and unbroken 
 country. In the meanwhile, the scouters liad fallen upon a small herd 
 of buffaloes, from which they obtained a very acceptable mess of fresh 
 meat, of which we had been deprived for some time. This circumstance, 
 together with the necessity of making sundry repairs to our vehicles, in- 
 duced me to order a halt, after a less number of hours than is usual; for 
 we were not more than eight miles to the NE. of Fort Pierre. It will 
 be seen, however, that, from this spot, our journeys assumed a regularity 
 that will dispense with the necessity of my giving any detailed accounts of 
 them. 
 
 On reaching the Coteau du Missouri, there are no further apparent 
 Coteau dn traces of the cretaceous formation. It is a rolling prairie, the soil 
 Missouri, of which is a mixture of fine sand and gravel ; but still, it is 
 partly covered by a short, sweet-scented, and grateful verdure. An inspec- 
 tion of the gullies shows that the basis of this soil is the erratic deposite 
 previously described. The silicious particles of the soil are blackened by 
 the smoke of the vernal and autumnal fires of the prairies; and, as the 
 growth is too scant to prevent the dust from being raised by the almost in- 
 cessant winds that blow over them, the traveller is very much inconve- 
 nienced. There are no springs to quench the thirst ; and it is only at wide 
 distances apart that small pools are met with, bordered by aquatic plants, 
 towards which the experience of his guide is necessary to bring him to his 
 bivouac/, where he must needs have recourse to the dried dung of the buf- 
 falo f(/ fuel. It was in the hope of extricating ourselves from uitficulties 
 of this kind, that we made an examination of ihe forks of the East Medi- 
 cine river, which empties into the Missouri about fifteen miles below Fort 
 Pierre. 
 
 This last-mentioned river derives its name from a beautiful hill on its 
 right bank, called by the Sioux Fnhah luakan — translated by the voyageurs, 
 " Butte de Medicine," and, in English, Medicine hillock, or knoll. It is 
 to be remarked, in fact, of the prairies of this region, tliat they present 
 such low insulated hillocks, to which the Sioux apply the somewhat 
 generic name of re or paliahy according as they are more or less elevated 
 
45 [ 237 ] 
 
 above the surrounding plain. The affix wakan indicates that the locality- 
 is 10 them peculiarly remarkable, or even sacred, and a spot which they 
 select in preterence for some of' their ceremonies. 
 
 We ascended to the top of the Pahah-icakan to enjoy the view over 
 the vast prairie before us, where we could discern herds of buffalo as far 
 as the eye cuuld reach. This was, to say the least of it, a very consohng 
 prospect. 
 
 Before quitting the forks of East Medicine river, we had made an 
 ample supply of water and wood ; a necessary precaution, for soon every 
 appearance of running water disappeared. The green plains regain their 
 uniformity, bounded only by the horizon, and presenting a smooth surf;!ce, 
 without one sprig of grass higher than another. The deep furrows made 
 by the buffaloes in their migrating excursions from north to south, and 
 south to north, are the only irregularities of the surface. However; as the 
 direction of our route is towards the eastern border of the plateau, we could 
 not help remarking, that there the undulations of the prairie are shorter, 
 their intervals deeper, and, finally, swell into hills of 80 to 100 feet in ele- 
 vation. We had then reached the dividing ridge between the waters that 
 empty into the Missouri, and those that flow into the river Jacques. The 
 mean elevation of this ridge above the sea is 2,100 feet, and goes to 2,200 
 feet, if the mean height of the hillocks formed of the erratic deposite be 
 taken into the estimate. One of the points of this ridge is indicated upon 
 the map as my astronomical station of the 6th of July, on the route taken 
 by us over these regions ; which route is also laid down. Five or six miles 
 from this station we reached the extreme verge of the eastern limit of the 
 Coteau dn Missouri, whence a most magnificent spectacle presents itself, 
 extending over the immense hydrographical basin of the Tchan-saJisan, 
 or river Jacques. 
 
 Dixon, in truth, had been managing a surprise for us ; he had been lead- 
 ing me through ravines, and over hills, until vve gained the spot upon which 
 he wished to place me. Noticing my admiration, he characteristically ex- 
 claimed, " Well, come now, you want geography : look ! there's geography 
 for you." 
 
 Soon after we commenced to descend the eastern slope of the plateau, 
 and came upon an encampment of Yanktons, whom we had previously 
 met on the Huppan-kutcij prairie, and to whom we had communicated the 
 plan of our itinerary. They were friends or connexions of Dixon and 
 Fi6niere, whom we were glad to overtake. The encampment consisted of 
 eleven lodges, containing about one hnndred and ten persons; and as they 
 were abundantly supplied with provisions, they were enjoying themselves 
 in the fullness of their heart. 
 
 We pitched our own tents upon the same prairie, and I had an oppor- 
 tunity to enter into a long conversation with the chief of the party, (the 
 Eagle,) one of the most intelligent and brave Indians with whom I ever 
 became acquainted. He gave me some very important information in 
 reference to the conduct of our expedition across the prairies, so as to 
 avoid any unpleasant rencounter with the warlike parties that meet here 
 during the hunting season. Perceiving that I had but a few men with me, 
 he kindly offered me an additional escort of ten of his men ; which offer 
 I thought ])roper to decline, for two reasons: first, because I was unwill- 
 ing to deprive his party of an assistance and protection that it might it- 
 ■ self want on some emergency ; and next, for the more prudential consid- 
 
[ 237 ] 46 
 
 eration of preserving an absolute neutrality. For, in case of meeting with 
 any hostile parties, an attack might be commenced, the baggage robbed, 
 and the horses stolen, before having time to reconcile matters by a friendly 
 intercourse. 
 
 Early ilie next morning, having distributed our presents to the Yank- 
 Oiuhu-oiu ^^'^^' ^^^ continued our descent of the Coteau du Missouri along 
 or Oakwoo'i the Wamdush/.'a, or Snake river, that takes its rise on the pla- 
 seuiemeui. leau which \ve had just left, to empty itself into the Tchan-san- 
 san. Thence we proceeded to lake Tchan-ra-ra-chedan ^ or lake of the 
 "scattered small wood,"' the aspect of which is grateful to the traveller, 
 but, from the impurity of its water, affords him but little relief; and then, 
 fifteen to eighteen miles farther, we reached the river Jacques, at a very cel- 
 ebrated spot, called by the Sioux Otiihu oju — meaning, literally, the place 
 "where the oaks spring up," but which 1 have designated on my map as 
 the "Oakwood Settlement," 
 
 Otuliu oju (or, as the French call it, Talle de Chtnes) was the place of 
 rendezvous vvuich I had assigned to the reinforcement that was to meet 
 me from Lac qui-parle. It had been for the Sth to the 12th of .luly, and 
 we reached it on the 10th — with laudable exhilaration, it may be believed, 
 after one year's appointment, made in defiance of all unforeseeable acci- 
 dents. The estimate which I have made of the distance between this place 
 and Fort Pierre is about 110 miles; its actual elevation above the sea is 
 about 1,340 feet, and the descent from the Coteau du Missouri to the river 
 Jacques not less than 750 feet. The last 50 miles, by our route, belong to 
 the east slope of the Coteau du Missouri ; but, as we were obliged to st;!:?ct 
 our ground, allowing for this, the whole direct distance is probably 40 miles. 
 In a similar way, estimating the distance to the head of the Coteau des 
 Prairies, which is 30 miles to the east : the basin of the river Jacques be- 
 tween the two coteaux, and in the latitude of Otuhu ojif, may be laid down 
 as having a breadth of SO miles, sloping gradually down from an elevation 
 of 700 to 750 feet. These dimensions, of course, vary in the different 
 parts of the valley; but what I have said will convey some idea of the 
 immense prairie watered by the Tchajisansan, which has been deemed 
 by all travellers to those distant regions perhaps the most beautiful within 
 the territory of the United States. 
 
 I hazard, in conclusion of my remarks on the physical geography of the 
 valley just described, the suggestion that it has been scooped out by some 
 powerful denuding cause, and that its original geological character was such 
 as is now observed in the Coteau du Missouri and the Coteau des Prairies^ 
 by which it is bounded. 
 
 It is only necessary to cast a glance over the map, to form an idea of 
 the importance of Tdian-sansan river. It takes its rise on the plateau 
 of the Missouri, beyond the parallel of 47° N. ; and after pursuing nearly 
 a north and south course, empties into the Missouri river below 43°. 
 It is deemed navigable with small hunting canoes for between 500 and 
 600 miles; but, below Otuhu oju, it will float much larger boats, and 
 there are no otfier obstades in its navigation than a few rafts. When 
 we turned away from the river in latitude 47*^ 27', its breadth was from 
 SO to 100 feet ; and we could discover by the water marks on its banks, 
 that, in the season of freshets, it widens out here to 100 yards, and south 
 of Otuhu oju to 200 yards. The shores of the river are generally toler- 
 ably well wooded, though only at intervals ; the trees consisting princi- 
 
47 [ 237 ] 
 
 pally of elm, ash, bar oak, poplar, and willows. Along .these portions 
 where it widens into lakes, very eligible situations for farms would be 
 found; and if tlie Indian traders have hitherto selected positions south of 
 the OtuhHoju, it was doubtless in consequence of its more easy navigation 
 into the Missouri. 
 
 The most important tributary to the Tchan-sansan, coming into it from 
 Riviere aux i'^ right shorp, is the Pey icatpa of the Sioux, the" riviere aux 
 Ormes, or Ormes of the French — Elm river; which Mr. Featherstonhaugh, 
 Elm river, relying too implicitly on the well-meant mformation given to 
 him by his good old guide, puts down on his map as emptying into the 
 Missouri. 
 
 Elm river might not deserve any especial mention as a navigable stream, 
 but is very well worthy of notice on account of the timber growing on its 
 own banks and those of its forks. Hence it is that the Indian hunting 
 parties, proceeding upon their winter chase across the Coteau des Prairies 
 to the Coteau du Missouri, always take this route; not only, perhaps, for 
 the supply of wood, but also in the expectation of meeting with game. 
 The trading-post of Fort Pierre, likewise, occasionally sends an agent to 
 barter with these migratory Indians. It was in this capacity of agent that 
 Louison P^eniere spent among them the winter of 1836-37, during which 
 he encountered some trying difficulties. Tiie buffaloes did not make their 
 appearance that winter, and the small-pox spread itself among all the tribes 
 that frequent this region, to their extermination. He was left without pro- 
 visions, and with no other resource than that afforded by the roots of plants, 
 which he managed to dig up from beneath the snow. The men attached 
 to his own service died of hunger; and v/hen the spring came, his house 
 was surrounded by dead bodies, alone, amidst this ravage of cold, hunger, 
 and disease. 
 
 Ascending the shores of the Tclian- sansan^ the bordering plains are ob- 
 served to rise gradually up to the level of the Plateau du Missouri on one 
 side, and that of the Shayenoju on the other; so that the bed of this long 
 river lies more and more deep. We left it at the spot called by the voya- 
 geurs Buite-aiLv-Os, (nr bone hillock, bone hill.) in consequence of a large 
 heap of bones of animals that the Indians have gathered up and arranged 
 in a certain order. A few miles further we had reached the plateau of the 
 Shayen oju. This table land may be considered as a continuation of the 
 Coteau des Prairies; the head of which having yielded, to make way for 
 the passage of the Skayefi-oju, rises again to form the clividina: ridge be- 
 tween the head waters of the Tchan-sansm^ and those of the Red river of 
 the North. This extension of the Coteau des Prairies goes on blending it- 
 self with the ascending plains that rise towards the Rocky Mountains, and 
 that divide the waters of the Missouri from those of the long river ISas- 
 kdtchawa/i, that empties into the great Winipik lake. 
 
 The Sliayen ojtt derives its name from having been formerly occupied 
 Shayen-oju by a nation called the Shayens, who were driven from it and 
 
 liver. pursued beyond the Missouri, where they are still to be found. 
 It is a river of some importance, being navigable by canoes, and its banks 
 well wooded. The extent of its navigation is from near the Mi?ii-ivakan, 
 or Devil's lake, to its confluence with the Red river of the North. Its val- 
 ley possesses a fertile soil, and offers many inducements to its settlement; 
 benig, moreover, reputed as frequented by animals yielding the finest peltry, 
 
[ 237 ] 48 
 
 to the extent that its exploration is really dangerous, because of the rival 
 and contending parties of Indians that one is exposed to meet with. 
 
 On reaching the plateau of the S/iaijen-oju, we were at once surprised 
 and saddened at the sight of still interminable plains extending before us ; 
 for we had hoped that, after crossing the river, some variety would present 
 itself, to relieve the monotony of the scenery, and the listlessness conse- 
 quent upon it, which seemed to be gaining upon our party. The Indians 
 and buffaloes, that give animation to the prairies, had not made their ap- 
 pearance for many days ; the heat was excessive; the thermometer three 
 times had reached 93°, and we were scarce of water ; our horses were 
 harassed by flies; and, worse than all, the whole party appeared to be, and 
 were, dissatisfied. I could not but feel the responsibility of my situation, 
 and made an effort to secure the successful result of our expedition, which 
 for a while seemed to be endangered. A trifling incident brought about 
 the change. 
 
 1 had brought along with me in my medicine chest some tartaric acid 
 and bi-carbonate of soua, with which I composed an effervescent draught, 
 that was freely distributed among the party. They thus foiuid themselves 
 unexpectedly relieved ; and, regaining new energy, we proceeded on onr 
 journey. The spirits of the party were further enlivened by falling in with 
 a herd of buffaloes a few hours after. It was an immense herd, whose mi- 
 gration to the southwest obstructed our onward progress for three days and 
 nights. But it was necessary, for safety's sake, to get out of their path ; 
 and, besides, they might be fleeing before some hostile party of Indians ; so 
 that we preferred to take a safer position on a branch of the Skayen oju, 
 laid down on my map as the Tampah^ or Birch creek. 
 
 On the second day after reaching the latter position, Dixon and Freniere 
 announced some Indians, of whom three were brought into our camp, who 
 gave information that, about eight miles off, there was an encampment of 
 three hundred lodges, consisting of Yanktons, Sissitons, and Yanktonnans, 
 preparing for a '^swrou/id,'^ with which it would be very dangerous to m- 
 terlere. It was deemed, therefore, advisable, before advancing, to have 
 some previous conversation with the chief of the party. Accordingly, 
 after some necessary precautions, on the afternoon of the third day, having 
 forced our way through the buffaloes, we met two chiefs, Wahanantan 
 and Manka-indlah, who were advancing to meet us, and invited us into 
 their camp, where we had a most animating reception. I caused many 
 presents to be distributed among them, whicli brought about talks, feasts, 
 dances, songs, and the whole series of their usual ceremonies. This lasted 
 twenty-four hours; after which we resumed our line of march, parting on 
 terms of perfect amity from our new acquaintances. 
 
 Having explored the plains of the right side of Shayen oju, we crossed 
 the river, and directed our route towards the Miniwakaii^ or Devil's 
 lake. As we advance, the wooded borders of Devil's lake gradually 
 come into view, the rounded summits of the hills looming above the 
 horizon. There is one of these hills in particular which the Sioux call 
 the Mini wakan.c/ia?ite — literally meaning "the heart of the enchanted 
 water," and translated by the voyageurs "the heart of Devil's lake."' We 
 could see its summit at a distance of more than 30 miles, though it is not 
 more than SnO ieel above the waters of the lake. Still, I was reminded, 
 by its appearance, of some of the dome-shaped sunmiits of the Jura, as 
 
49 [ 237 { 
 
 seen from the plains of Burgundy. Its name is derived from its shape; 
 when seen in a certain direction, being that of a heart; expressed, in the 
 Sioux language, by the word chante^ and its vicinity to the lake called by 
 them Miniivakan — enchanted water. 
 
 The sultriness of the day, and a lack of water, compelled us to come 
 to a halt sooner than we had expected, at a distance of thirteen or four- 
 teen miles beyond the Shayen, and four or five miles from Devil's 
 lake. This lake is supplied by three or four smaller lakes, which we 
 were happy to fall upon, as they afforded us good water and wood. The 
 The Metis Metis of the Red river had, we perceived, formed a camp not 
 
 or half- f;ir from the spot selected by us, which they had vacated but a 
 
 breeds. fg^y days before, on their return home, as we judged from the 
 deep cuts of their loaded wagons. T'his was rather a disappointment to 
 me, as I particalarly wished to become acquainted witli this people, 
 among whom, ii is said, are to be found the best hunters, the most expert 
 horsemen, and the bravest warriors of the priiiries. The information I 
 have of them is this : They are called Metis, or half breeds, being descend- 
 ants of Canadians, English, and Scotch, crossed with Chippeways, Kris- 
 tinaux, Assiniboins, Sioux, &.C., &;c. They represent the remains of Lord 
 Selkirk's colony and of tlie Hudson Bay Company. As for many years 
 they were only in small numbers, their incursions within the limits of 
 the United States were attended with danger to themselves, inconsequence 
 of outrages committed upon them by the full breeds, the Sioux, the 
 Hikaras, the Mandans, the Minitarees, (fcc. But they have since greatly- 
 increased; they number from 60i) to 800 people, and have become so for- 
 midable as to compel those tribes to seek an alliance with them, and thus 
 to maintain peace. The Metis call themselves '= free people," (.ore/^,.? Hbres;) 
 but by their neighbors they are designated as " Metis of the Red river,^^ 
 " the Red river People,'" " the People of the North." 
 
 It is their usage to come twice a year upon the territory of the United 
 States where the buffalo abounds: each family has its carl or wagon 
 drawn by oxen ; each hunter has his horse, which is remarkably fleet. 
 They are accompanied by missionaries, who regulate both their temporal 
 and spiritual concerns. Their first campaign is made at the setting in of 
 summer; their second in the fall of the year ; and they remain about two 
 months. Sometimes they divide themselves into two bands ; directing 
 themselves in this respect according to the distribution which they have 
 previously ascertained of the butfalo herds over these immense plains. 
 One-half of the hunters alternately watch over the camp, and the other 
 half are in active pursuit of the game; and the slaughter of the buffaloes 
 is kept up, according to settled usage, until each wagon is loaded with the 
 spoils of ten of these animals. 
 
 The next day (being the 29th of July) we took up our line of march, 
 Mini wa- ^"^ '^7 midday reached the borders of Mini wo/cau lake. We 
 kan, or Dev- selected, for the spot of our first encampment, the head of a. 
 it's lake. small bay, sheltered by a copse ; and we remained nine days on 
 the borders of the lake ; during which, we occupied three distinct stations, 
 as well under the necessity ol securing ourselves against the invasion of 
 warlike parties, as to supply ourselves with fresh water from adjoining 
 pools and small lakes. 
 
 It is not easy, however, tj delineate the figure of the lake. Its first 
 appeal ance d'd not realize the anticipations we had been led to form of it 
 4 
 
I 237 ] 50 
 
 from popular account. The lake is on the plateau of the Shayen oju, and 
 is surrounded by swells and hills, varying in height from 20 to 250 feet, 
 that so project into it as not to permit its whole expanse to be seen but 
 from one spot, which I shall presently describe. 
 
 The prominent hill-top, previously alluded to by the name of Mini- 
 wakanchante, is the only beacon to the traveller leading to the lake ; but 
 even from its summits no idea can be formed of this beautiful sheet of 
 water. He must go to a smaller eminence, known as the Butte du Milieu 
 by the French voyageurs, whence alone the eye can take in the principal 
 contours of the lake. 
 
 The greatest extension of Devil't; lake is at least 40 miles — but may be 
 more, as we did not, and could not, ascertain the end of the northwest bay, 
 which 1 left undefined on the map. It is bordered by hills that are pretty 
 well wooded on one side, but furrowed by ravines and coulees, that are 
 taken advantage of by warlike parties, both for attack and deience, ac- 
 cording to circumstances. The lake itself is so filled up with islands 
 and promontories, that, in travelling along its shores, it is only occasion- 
 ally that one gets a glimpse of its expanse. This description belongs 
 only to its wooded side ; for, on the opposite side, the shores, though still 
 bounded by hills, are destitute of trees, so as to exhibit an embankment 
 to the east from 10 to 12 miles long, upon an average breadth of three- 
 quarters of a mile. The average breadth of the lake may be laid down 
 at 15 miles. Its waters appear to be the drainings of the surrounding 
 hills. We discovered no outlets in the whole extent of about three quarters 
 of its contour we could explore. At all events, if there be any, they do not 
 empty into the Red river of the North, since the lake is shut up in that 
 direction, and since we found its true geographical position to be much 
 more to the north than it is ordinarily laid down upon maps. A single 
 depression at its lower end would intimate that, in limes of high water, 
 some discharge might possibly take place ; but then it would be into the 
 iSliayenoJH. 
 
 As to the natural history of the waters of the Miniwaka?i, it is shortly 
 told. They are too brackish to be drunk, excepting by horses, who swal- 
 low them with avidity ; they have a deeper green color than those of the 
 neighboring lakes that are not salt. I had no means of ascertaining the 
 density of the water of this lake ; but having caused several gallons of it 
 to be evaporated by distillation, I subsequently made an analysis of the 
 residuum, which proved to be a mixture of sulphates and hydrochlorates of 
 soda and magnesia. 
 
 As we were not provided with nets, we could not ascertain what species 
 of fish inhabit it. My guides assured me that there were several, and some 
 of a large size ; and this was afterwards confirmed to me by some Indians 
 with whom I conversed on the subject. It is a fact, that my men, after a 
 thimder-gust, found on the beach a number of red fish, and' a pike which 
 we judged would weigh several pounds. Strawberry vines were found in 
 abundance on the sunny side of the lake. 
 
 Finally, and in conclusion of my description of the region about this 
 lake, I may add that the soil is found, in dry weather, to be covered with 
 a saline efflorescence, which sufficiently accounts for its being a great 
 resort of the buffaloes. It also produces a variety of new and interesting 
 |ilants, some of which will be found in the catalogue of plants under 
 
51 [ 237 ] 
 
 appendix B. This region, by its natural resources, would admit of nu- 
 nieroHS setilements. Accordingly, some have been attempted by the traders, 
 but were abandoned in consequence of the hostile spirit of the Indians, 
 who know, by experience, that the bufflilocs abandon their usual licks so 
 soon as settlements are made upon them. 
 
 Having thus accomplished the main object of our expedition, we re- 
 turned along the plateaux on the left side of the Skuyen-BJu, 
 ^heNonh*^ making a reconnoissance of the ridge on which the streams 
 that empty into the Red river of the North take their origin. 
 Thus we were brought to cross the Shayenoju a second lime, and again to 
 ascend the Coteau des Prairies; but as our returning route is traced upon 
 the map, and a sufficiently detailed account of the Coteau has been given 
 elsewhere, I will close this portion of my narrative with an account of 
 what appeared to me ul the time the most mterestiHg incidents in our back- 
 ward journeys from Miniwakan lake. 
 
 duitting, then, the borders of Devil's lake, our direction was somewhat 
 to the east of south. During the first three miles we had to cross hills sep- 
 arated by large and deep coulees, (more commonly called by tite voyae-eurs 
 " 6amie/e5,") at this time perfectly dry, but through which it is very prob- 
 able the surplus waters of the lake, during or after a rainy season, dis- 
 charge themselves into the k^hayen-oju, as previously suggested. 
 
 At the foot of the eastern hills just alluded to, we reached the western 
 border of u fine lake, called by the Sioux Wamduskamde, (lake of the 
 Serpents;) which I suppose to be the same that the half-breeds of the Red 
 river have named " Lac des Cliicots." This lake is in the sliape of a horse- 
 shoe, the two farthest extremities of whicli are seven miles apart, afid its 
 circumference from fifteen to sixteen miles, with an average breadth of one 
 mile. It is also a salt lake, discharging its surplus waters through coulees, 
 into the Shayenojn. Its borders are in some parts wooded. But in its 
 neighborhood we found a small fresh-water lake, on the banks of which we 
 pitched our encampment. 
 
 Having made our usual morning observations, we took up our march the 
 next day^ leaving the IShayen oju to our right, at a distance varying from 
 four to six miles, according as us bends approach or recede from us. The 
 surrounding country is undulating, and in some places gullied, especially 
 on the approach to some tributary. The river on that side has three tribu- 
 tary forks, the banks of which are destitute of trees, so that v/e could al- 
 ways guide ourselves by the course of the Shayen, rendered conspicuous 
 by the dense green foliage of its shores. 
 
 We were aware that to the east of the route we were pursuing lay the 
 great basin of the Red river of the North, but at an unknown distance. Its 
 lower portion had been visited by the expedition under M;ijor Long; its 
 rivers described, and their confluence laid down. I had myself placed on 
 my map of the region about the sources of the Mississippi, after my visit to 
 this region in 1836, the sources of those streams which empty into it from 
 the left side, as the maps extant erroneously derive them from Devil's lake. 
 My barometrical levellings soon convinced me that we were not far from 
 the most elevated part of the plateau, to the east, where the true dividing- 
 ridge between the waters that empty into the Shayeti-ojn on one side, and 
 the Red river on the other, is to be found. The sameness in the physical 
 character of the highlands also indicated that they were only a continua- 
 
[ 237 ] 52 
 
 tion of those forming the plateau that in this latitude separates the valley 
 of the Tclian-satisan from that • of the Shayenoju ; which latter has 
 scooped out for itself a deep bed, through which, after many and large 
 windings from north to east, and turning to the west and sonth, according 
 to the depression in the highlands, it finds its way to the Red river of the 
 JMorth. It became, therefore, intHresting to elucidate these points in the 
 geography of ihe country. For this purpose, it was necessary for us to 
 take an eastern course; and, after a short march, we reached a spot which 
 my barometer sufficiently informed me was on the dividingridjre, and not 
 far from its extreme eastern verge ; so that we had actually travelled over 
 the great swell of the plaieau that separates the upper Shayen from Devil's 
 lake and the Red river; but we were not yet in sight of the great valley of 
 the latter, though every moment expecting to come within it. Whilst pro- 
 ceeding onward, we saw Dixon (who always preceded us at a distance, to 
 indicate our best route, and, with his eagle eye, to reconnoitre the country 
 before us) suddenly come to a stop, light his pipe, and quietly sit himself 
 down upon a small knoll, with his back turned towards us. This was 
 contrary to his usage, for he had always before, when he suggested a halt 
 for any purpose, been in the habit of turning round to wait our coming. 
 On this occasion he was immovable, and I could easily guess the cause. 
 
 When we reached him, we found him in the most ecstatic contemplation 
 before the vast and magnificent valley of the Red river, which there dis- 
 played itself before us, spreading itself in an almost insensible slope to the 
 east, to the north, and to the south, and bounded only by the horizon. 
 May I not be permitted, in this place, to introduce a few reflections on the 
 magical influence of the prairies? It is difiicult to express by words the 
 varied impressions which their spectacle produces. Their sight never 
 wearies. To look at a prairie up or down ; to ascend one of its undula- 
 tions ; to reach a small plateau, (or. as the voyageurs call it, a prairie 
 jjlauchdy) moving from wave to wave over alternate swells and depres- 
 sions ; and, finally, to reach tlie vast interminable low prairie, that extends 
 itself in front, — be it for hours, days, or weeks, one never tires; pleasura- 
 ble and exhilarating sensations are all the time felt; ennui is never expe- 
 rienced. Doubtless there are moments when excessive heat, a want of 
 fresh water, and other privations, remind one that life is a toil; but these 
 drawbacks are of short duration. There is almost always a breeze over 
 them. The security one feels in knowing that there are no concealed dan- 
 gers, so vast is the extent which the eye takes in ; no difliculties of road ; 
 a far spreading verdure, relieved by a profusion of variously colored flow- 
 ers ; the azLire of the sky above, or the tempest that can be seen from its 
 beginning to its end; the beautiful modifications of the changing clouds; 
 the curious looming of objects between earth and sky, taxing the ingenuity 
 every moment to rectify; — all, everything, is calculated to excite the per- 
 ceptions, and keep alive the imagination. In the summer season, espe- 
 cially, everything upon the prairies is cheerful, graceful, and animated. 
 The Indians, with herds of deer, antelope, and buflalo, give life and mo- 
 tion to them. It is then they should be visited ; and I pity the man whose 
 soul could remain unmoved under such a scene of excitement. But, al- 
 thouo^h 1 have left much unsaid, I am admonished that it is time for me to 
 close this part of my report, to give an account of my exploration of the 
 sources of the Mississippi. 
 
53 [ 237 ] 
 
 I was at St. Peter's \vl:en 1 made np my mind to visit the sources of 
 the Mississippi ; and I am indebted to my friends, Major Tulia- 
 St. Peter's, f^^^^^ jyjj. j^g,)ry H. fSibley, and the officers of the tirst regi- 
 ment stationed at Fort Siielling-, and under command of Colonel Daven- 
 port, for the removal of all difficulties that might naturally be expected 
 to present them.>elves to a solitary traveller, accompanied only by a few 
 Indians and liaK-breeds. Several of the officers expressed a desire to go 
 with me, of whose company I would gladly have availed myself, but 
 that, owing to the absence of some of their fellowoflicers, on a court-mar- 
 tial at Prairie du Chien, their own services were indispensably required at 
 the fort. 
 
 When about to leave St. Peter's, a Frenchman named Fronchet, belong- 
 ing to the garrison, and known to his corrirades by the name of />m/e, 
 presented himself to me, with an earnest iTcjuest that he might be per- 
 mitted to accompany me, as well with the object of wailing on me, as to 
 gain an opportunity of trafficking with the Indians whom we might meet. 
 Having received good testimonials of his character, I accepted his offer, 
 and have noihing but praise to bestow on his activity, patience, and the 
 cheerfulness which he manifested even in the midst of some trying circum- 
 stances to which we were exposed. 
 
 On the 26th of July, 1S36, I left St. Peter's, to bivouac at the falls of St. 
 Anthony, to which place I had caused to be transported my bark 
 Anthony canoeS; my baggage, and provisions. In this journey 1 was ac- 
 companied by Lieutenants S. N. Plummer, G. W. Shaw, and the 
 late James McClure, who kindly were desirous of extending to me the final 
 shake-hand before my departure. 
 
 But, once arrived at the ff\lls, I could not help remarking a sudden 
 distress among the Chippeways and half-breeds who were to escort me. 
 It arose from the circumstance that the Sioux, among whom we were, 
 had robbed me of my provisions and canoe. Perhaps this might have 
 been considered as a bad omen thrown over the success of my enter- 
 prise ; but the die was cast. I was determined not to return to St. 
 Peter's; so that Major Taliaferro, to whom 1 wrote, was kind enough to 
 send me another supply of articles similar to those which had been stolen 
 from me. 
 
 On the 29th of July, my flotilla was rapidly ascending the majestic Mis- 
 sissippi, laden with some of the productions from the two extremes of bar- 
 barism and civilization. The bow and arrow associated with the powder 
 flask and rifle ; sticks to notch down the days, and the chronometer to 
 measure time; the man who notices in the heavens only the clouds that 
 occasionally overshadow its brilliancy, and he who, armed with a telescope, 
 can contemplate their most recondite wonders; the savage, fitially, who 
 sees in them nothing but the abode of spirits that rule the hurricanes or 
 dispense vengeance, and the Christian, vi^ho implicitly relies on an all- wise 
 and merciful God. 
 
 The falls of St. Anthony form the limits of steamboat navigation, as 
 well as of the calcareous deposite that cliaracterizes the shores of the 
 Mississippi from the mouth of the Wisconsin. The rocky formations 
 then assume another type, being the several varieties of green stone, and 
 finally passing into talcose slate, which is visible at the falls of the 
 Wabezi, or Swan river, and the Omos/ikos, or Elk river, near their en- 
 trances. 
 
[ 237 ] 54 
 
 Along this portion of the Mississippi that I am now describing — nameljr, 
 Ascent of the a length of 189 miles, from St. Peter's to Crow-wing river — 
 Mississippi, the valley is wide, with river banks of moderate elevation, 
 affording beautiful sites, that contrast remarkably with the bold escarp- 
 ments exhibited below the falls of St. Anthony. In this ascent of the 
 river, which is full of rapids, it is necessary to have recourse to the pole or 
 the tow-line; and, generally, following the left bank, under good guidance, 
 and with sufficient hands to stem the current, portages may be avoided. 
 This lefi bank presents almost a continued level of from ten to twenty 
 feet in elevation, forming a retreating succession of terraces that are de- 
 lightful to the view. The superincumbent soil is comp:)sed mainly of 
 sand, gravel, and clay, intermixed with erratic blocks. The sylva con- 
 sists of white and black oak, white and blue ash, red elm, two or three 
 species of maple, the lime tree, birch, a few hickories, and walnuts. The 
 western shore is more generally interspersed with swamps and woodlands, 
 well set with pines, birch, and sometimes with extensive camps of the 
 sugar-maple. 
 
 The most prominent geological feature of the country, on the eastera 
 side of the river, a little below the Pikwabik, is a large mass in situ of a 
 sienitic rock, with a flesh-colored feldspar, extending a mile in length, with 
 a breadth of half a mile, and an elevation of 80 feet, known as the Little 
 Rock. Higher up, and still on the same side of the river, at the foot of 
 the Knife rapids, there are sources that transport a very fine, brilliant, and 
 bluish sand, accompanied by a soft and unctuous matter. This appears 
 to be the result of a decomposition of a steaschist, probably interposed be- 
 tween the sienitic rocks previously mentioned. The same thing is ob- 
 served at the mouths of VVabezi and Omoalikos rivers. 
 
 On my arrival at the Crow-wing river, I could not but reflect that the 
 Mississippi before me had been thoroughly explored during the expedi- 
 tions of Major Pike, General Cass, and Mr. Schoolcraft, whose accounts 
 were very generally known to the public. I thought, therefore, that it 
 might be advisable to attempt another route across the country; so that^ 
 leaving the Crow- wing at the distance of three miles from its month, I 
 ascended the Gayashk, or Gull river,* and the pretty lake having the 
 same name. Thence 1 proceeded as far as Pine river, taking occasion to 
 visit Kadi/comeg, or White-fish lake; then, again ascending the east 
 fork of Pine river, I reached the Kwiwiseus^ or Little Boy river, which I 
 descended, through a succession of lakes, and over small rapids, as far as 
 Leech lake Leech lake. I spent a week on the borders of this beautiful 
 and Ouei-iail sheet of water, my tent being most generally pitched on Ot- 
 Point. tertail Point. This was the residence of my principal guide, 
 
 Francis Brunet, a man six feet three inches high — a giant of great strength, 
 but, at the same time, full of the milk of human kindness, and, withal, 
 an excellent natural geographer. Bat, during the first three days of this 
 week, the Chippeways of tlie lake greatly annoyed me ; and, from mutual 
 misunderstandinijs, even put my life in jeopardy, as my guide scarcely 
 dared to side with me, for fear of exposing: himself. The cause of all 
 this appears to have been, that I was not sufficiently provided with articles 
 to be disposed of as presents ; which circumstance, implying poverty, 
 
 ♦ I have contracted this name from that of the Chippeways, which is Kagayaihkenii-lcang^ 
 or " the place where there are little gulls," 
 
55 [231 J 
 
 seemed among Indians to entitle me but little to that hospitality which I need* 
 ed. How I succeeded in pacifying them, remains to be related. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Boutwell, who was endeavoring to establish a mission 
 among the " pillagers"' who inhabit the borders of Leech lake, would have 
 willingly come to my assistance ; for he had learned that a Kayateicernit- 
 tig-oj (which means " a Prenchman of the oldai Hme^^) had arrived.* He 
 could hear by day and by night the sound of the drum, with the shouts 
 and songs of the Indians. He knew, also, that the principal chief, Eshki- 
 bogikoj, (commonly called Flat Mouth,) was absent, and that the young 
 men would be very troublesome ; but he was on the opposite side of the 
 lake, and the wind had been blowing a gale for several days, so that he 
 could not, without danger, attempt to cross it. On the fourth day, however, 
 he arrived ; and, although totally unknown to each other previously, a 
 sympathy of feeling arose — growing out of the precarious circumstances 
 under which we were both placed, and to which he had been much longer 
 exposed than myself. This feeling, from the kind attentions which he paid 
 me, soon ripened, on my part, into one of affectionate gratitude. On his 
 arrival, things assumed a more peaceful aspect ; 1 succeeded in establishing 
 feelings of good will among them, which they never afterwards belied 
 during the three subsequent years that I had occasion to meet with them 
 in their own country or at St. Peter's. 
 
 Having lessened my equipage, and made arrangements to proceed to 
 Ascent (o the ^'^6 sources of the Mississippi, 1 left Leech lake in a bark canoe 
 sourcesot'ihe of Sufficient size to contain my instruments, some provisions, 
 Mississippi, and three persons besides myself, who were Desire, Francis 
 Brunet, and a respectable Chippeway named Kegwedzissag, who was well 
 acquainted with the country I wished to visit, and which he called his own, 
 as he was in the habit of hunting over it. 
 
 Leaving Leech lake, we crossed several small lakes, and reached the one 
 called Kabekonang,^ the name being derived (wmkabe, todis- 
 i^Kncrmer. embark, and mikan, a path or trail ; or, in its full meaning, 
 " the place where one disembarks to take up the trail or route." 
 We ascended the river which bears the same name, and, flowing in a narrow 
 and deep valley, is said not to freeze before .January ; nor, when frozen, to 
 thaw until July. I found, accordingly, in August, that its waters had a 
 temperature of only 54° ; whilst that of the lakes and rivers which I had 
 taken the preceding days, was between 60° and 70°. But Kabekonang 
 river is well enclosed within its high banks, and well protected from winds 
 of every description, by a thick forest of spruce firs and pines behind and 
 along its banks, and a shrubbery of alders so thickly set that we were 
 obliged to use our hatchets to navigate it. The salient points in the mean- 
 ders of the river are made up of aquatic plants, the stems of which form 
 peaty masses solid and tough, the moisture of which seemed to have but 
 recently thawed. Though, in this latitude of 47° 16', and with a mean 
 annual'temperature of 43°, we are much below the regions where the soil 
 remains frozen all the year round. Moreover, the river has but one small 
 
 ♦ In ihe Chippeway tongue, the expression implying the same meaning is Awas-komi^o-wer- 
 nilligoj, viz: a Frenchman from beyond the waters; which expression is translated by th« 
 Canadians, un Francois de France. 
 
 t This lake is not the same mentioned by Mr. Schoolcraft, and which is on La Place river. 
 
[ 237 ] 56 
 
 and short creek as a tributary, which is near its source, whilst it is abun- 
 dantly fed by springs that issue from the bases of the hills. 
 
 I regret not to have room here to narrate numerous interesting incidents 
 that occurred in this valley, where we saw constantly recurring the foot- 
 steps and marks of bears, wolves, deer, and otters ; but the length of those 
 details would exceed their importance. 
 
 From the sources of the Kabekonang^ (sometimes shortly called Kabe- 
 ko?ia,) we made a portage of five miles, that brought us to 
 La Place liver, ^j^g j.j^,gj. ^^^ Place, which we ascended as far as one mile 
 south of Assawa lake^ where we found a circular camp used four years 
 previously by Mr. Schoolcraft. But here we were assailed by swarms of 
 mosquitoes, that came pouring upon us in torrents ; so as, at three differ- 
 ent times, to extinguish the lights of my lanterns, whilst 1 was making my 
 astronomical observations. 
 
 The next morning we were up at half-past four, preparing for a portage 
 
 of about six miles, which was before us, and was to bring us to 
 
 !l^f^I?^^ Itasca lake, the principal basin on the head waters of the Mis- 
 and pottage. ... ,, i ^ • . j , • .r tit- 
 
 sissippi, as well as the projected lemnnus oi my excursion. We 
 
 were not ready, however, until half past six. Generally speaking, the idea 
 that there is but one effort more to accomplish one's object, inspires us with 
 courage and strength ; but ii seemed to be otherwise with us to day. We 
 lost time in idle talk ; and the night having been very hot, and the mosqui- 
 toes excessively troublesome, we were exceedingly overcome, and, conse- 
 quently, slow \n getting our respective loads ready. 
 
 The first mile of portage is over a short swamp, which is succeeded by 
 a small elevation, covered with white cedars and the American larch ; next 
 is a hollow filled up with fallen decayed trees, the accumulation of years, 
 and covered with a tiiick layer of wet moss and other parasites. It is a 
 buried forest, over which another is growing. We left this hollow, and 
 reached a sandy country, thinly covered by very small pines. Here we 
 made a halt, after this first mile, which was passed over with alacrity, and 
 at a trot ; this being the usual gait in crossing portages, as experience has 
 shown tliat there is thus a saving of fatigue as well as time. The velocity 
 thus acquired gives to the carrier the power of separating or tearing off the 
 branches of trees that impede his way, without having recourse to his 
 hands. Brunei carried the canoe, which weighed from 110 to 115 pounds, 
 or more ; Desii • and Kegwedzissag had each a load of from b5 !o 90 pounds. 
 .A.S to myself, 1 had about 35 pounds weight, unequally distributed upon 
 my body ; and. with less experience than my companions, was generally 
 the last to reach the halt. 
 
 It was my care, of course, at the portages, to take charge of all the most 
 valuable thitigs — that is, my instruments, my papers, and such articles as 
 were necessary to encamp at niglit, in case I should have lost my way. 
 In other words, it was proper to show a disposition to share the burden of 
 hardships with my fellow-travellers ; and, in case of accidents to tlie in- 
 struments, the responsibility was my own ; which prevented dissatisfaction, 
 and preserved harmony. I carried my sextant on my back, in a leather 
 case, thrown over me as a knapsack; then my barometer slung over the 
 left shoulder : my cloak, thrown over the same shoulder, confined the bar- 
 ometer closely against the sextant ; a portfolio under the arm ; a basket ia 
 hand, which conUiined my thermometer, chronometer, pocket compass, arti- 
 ficial horizon, tape line, &c. &c. On the right side, a spy-glass, powder- 
 
57 I 237 ] 
 
 tlask, and shot bag; and in my hand, a gun or an umbrella, according to 
 
 circumstances. Such was my accoutrement. i 
 
 It will be readily conceive*!, frotn this description of my equipment, that, 
 although the otiC least loaded, 1 was tlie most iticonvenienced. The hard- 
 earned experience of former portages had not yet familiarized me with their 
 fatigues and anxieties. Necessity engrossed me with the safety of my in- 
 struments. I will confess it — my mind frequently became bewildered, so 
 that twice durina: this portage I lost my way ; twice I got bogged in 
 marshes, from which I extricated myself by walking over slippery and de- 
 cayed trunks of trees; and twice I reproached myself with the rashness 
 that had led me upon such a journey. 
 
 I shall not dwell further on the description of this portage, the first three 
 miles of which, including a momentary rest afforded by the crossing of a 
 small lake, were attended with so many difficulties that it took me five 
 hours to achieve that which my men went over in three; the last three 
 miles bemg over a succession of ascents and descents, between which were 
 most commonly sloughs. The soil is sandy and gravelly, overspread with 
 erratic blocks ; but there is a great variety of evergreens, and they are larger 
 than in the region previously mentioned. 1 measured the elevation of the 
 most prominent ridges. The last in the series, being also the highest, is 
 120 feet above the waters of lake Itasca. This ridge. ViMth a rapid descent, 
 led us to the borders of the lake, where I took a barometrical observation at 
 noon. 
 
 My next move was to pitch my tent on Schoolcraft's island. The 
 
 staff, at the top of which that gentleman informed us he had 
 
 ^"^Island^^^'^ raised the American flag, had been cut down by the Indians. 
 
 I made use of what remained of it to fix upon it my artificial 
 
 horizon, and immediately proceeded to make astronomical observations, and 
 
 take up the exploration of the sources of the Mississippi. 
 
 The Mississippi holds its own from its very origin ; for it is not neces- 
 sary to suppose, as has been done, that lake Itasca may be sup- 
 ^M^ll^fL:^^ phed with invisible sources, to justify the character of a re- 
 markable stream, which it assumes at its issue from this lake. 
 There are five creeks that fall into it, formed by innumerable streamlets 
 oozing from the clay-beds at the bases of the hills, that consist of an ac- 
 cumulation of sand, gravel, and clay, intermixed with erratic fragments; 
 being a more prominent portion of the great erratic deposite previous de- 
 scribed, and which here is known by the name oi '■'■ Hauteurs des Terres^^ 
 — heights of land. 
 
 These elevations are commonly flat at top, varying in height from 85 to 
 100 feet above the level of the surrounding waters. They are 
 ^ Ten^es.*^^^ Covered with thick forests, in which the coniferous plants pre- 
 dominate. South of Itasca lake, they form a semicircular 
 region, with a boggy bottom, extending to the southwest a distance of 
 several miles ; thence these Hauteurs des Terres ascend to the northwest 
 and north ; and then, stretching to the northeast and east, through the zone 
 between 47° and 48° of latitude, make the dividing ridge between the 
 waters that empty into Hudson bay and those which discharge themselves 
 into the gulf of Mexico. The principal group of these Hauteurs des 
 Terres is subdivided into several ramifications, varying in extent, elevation, 
 and course, so as to determine the hydrographical basins of all the innumer- 
 
[ 237 ] 58 
 
 able lakes and rivers that so peculiarly characterize this region of coun- 
 try. 
 
 One of these ramifications extends in a southerly direction, under the 
 Coteau du Grand name of Coteau du Grand Bois ; and it is this which sep- 
 
 Bois and divid- arates the Mississippi streams from those of the Red river 
 
 ing ridge. of the North. 
 
 The waters supplied by the north flank of these heights of land — still 
 on the south side of lake Itasca — give origin to the five creeks of which I 
 have spoken above. These are ihe waters which I consider to be the 
 utmost sources of the Mississippi. Those that flow from the southern 
 side of the same heights, and empty themselves into Elbow lake, are the 
 utmost sources of the Red river of ihe North; so that the most remote 
 feeders of Hudson bay and the gulf of Mexico are closely approximated to 
 each other. 
 
 Now, of the five creeks that empty into Itasca lake, (the Omoflikos 
 Sagaii^on of the Chippeways, or the Lac a la Biche of the 
 Elk lake, prciich, or the Elk lake of the British,) one empties into the 
 east bay of the lake; the four others into the west bay, I visited the 
 whole of them ; and among the latter there is one remarkable above the 
 others, inasmuch as its course is longer, and its waters more abundant : 
 so that, in obedience to the geographical rule, "that the sources of a river 
 are those which are most distant from its mouth,"' this creek is truly the in- 
 fant Mississippi ; all others below, its feeders and tributaries. 
 
 The day on which I explored this principal creek, (August 29, 1836,) 
 1 judged that, at its entrance into Itasca lake, its bed was from 15 to 29 
 feet wide, and the depth of water from 2 to 3 feet. We stemmed its pretty- 
 brisk current during ten or twenty minutes ; but the obstructions occasion- 
 ed by the fall of trees compelled us to abandon the canoe, and to seek its 
 springs on foot, along the hill's. After a walk of three miles, during which 
 we took care not to lose sight of the Mississippi, my guides informed me 
 that it was better to descend into the trough of the valley ; when, accord- 
 ingly, we found numberless streamlets oozing from the bases of the hills. 
 The temperature obtained at a great number of places, by plunging* the 
 thermometer in the mud whence these springs arose, was always between 
 43" 5' and 44" 2' Fahrenheit; that of the air being between 63° and 70"^. ' 
 Having taken great pains in determining the temperature, 1 have a right to 
 believe that it represents pretty accurately the mean annual temperature of 
 the country under examination. 
 
 As a further description of these head waters, I may add that they unite 
 at a small distance from the hills whence they originate, and form a small 
 lake, from which the Mississippi flows with a breadth of a foot and a half, 
 and a depth of one foot. At no great distance, however, this rivulet, uni- 
 ting itself with other streamlets coming from other directions, supplies a 
 second minor lake, the waters of which have already acquired a temperature 
 of 48°. From this lake issues a rivulet, necessarily of increased importance 
 — a cradled Hercules, giving promise of the strength of his maturity ; for 
 its velocity has increased; it transports the smaller branches of trees; it 
 begins to form sand bars ; its bends are more decided, until it subsides again 
 into the basin of a third lake somewhat larger than the two preceding. Hav- 
 ing here acquired renewed vigor, and tried its consequerice upon an addition- 
 al length of two or three miles, it finally empties into Itasca lake, which is 
 the principal reservoir of all the sources to which it owes all its subsequent 
 majesty. 
 
59 [ 237 ] 
 
 The stream which Messrs, Schoolcraft and Allen have designated as 
 the East fork of the Mississippi, and which I have named 
 La Place river after ihe illustrious La Place, (on which there is a lake that I 
 kke.^"^^'^^*^ have called after the celebrated translator of the M6canique 
 Celeste, Mr. Bowditch,) hns its source perhaps as distant as that 
 to which I have exclusively preserved the name of Mississippi. But, as it 
 is less important, from having' less water, 1 have considered it only a tribu- 
 tary to that to which it unites itself. 
 
 The honor of having first explored the sources of the Mississippi, and 
 introduced a knowledge of them in physical geography, belongs to Mr. 
 Schoolcraft and Lieutenant Allen. I come only after these gentlemen ; but 
 I may be permitted to claim some merit for having completed what was 
 wanting for a full geographical account of these sources. Moreover, I am, 
 1 believe, the first traveller who has carried with him astronomical instru- 
 ments, and put them to profitable account, along the whole course of the 
 Mississippi, from its mouth to its sources. 
 
 The chronicle of geographical discoveries requires that I should men- 
 .. „ , . tion, in this place, the name of Mr. Beltrami. This traveller, 
 ■ (who, in 1825, volunteered to accompany the expedition of 
 Major Long, from which he separated himself on the plains of the Red 
 river of the North,) in the course of his adventures fell into the vicinity 
 of Red lake. He descended Turtle riverj which empties into lake Cass ; — - 
 that had been the terminus of the expedition of 1820, under the command 
 of General Cass, and in honor of whom it is so named. Now, as the 
 sources of Turtle river are more distant from the mouth of the Mississippi 
 than this lake, Mr. Beltrami thought himself authorized to publish that he 
 had discovered the sources of the Mississippi. Hence, perhaps, may be 
 explained why, as late as Mr. Schoolcraft's expedition of 1832, the sources 
 of the river were laid down as NW. of lake Cass. 1 may be mistaken, 
 but it strikes me that American critics have been too disdainful of Mr. 
 Beltrami's book, which found many readers on both continents, whilst it 
 propagated some painful errors. My opinion is, that it deserved a critical 
 revievv, and a severe refutation; for it is full of mistakes, both unjust 
 and illiberal, as regards the character and customs particularly of the 
 Indians. 
 
 After having devoted three days to an exploration of the sources of 
 the Mississippi, and spent portions of the nights in making astronomical 
 observations^ I took leave of liasca la/ce, to the cxammation of which 
 the expedition that preceded me by four years had devoted but a short 
 time.* 
 
 The actual name of this lake, given by Mr. Schoolcraft, without de- 
 fining it, is already laid down in some book as of Indian origin. The 
 only island that adorns it is not more than 222 yards long, with a sandy- 
 gravelly soil, but covered by a full growth of northern trees, that give it 
 quite a picturesque appearance. The Mississippi, on issuing from the lake, 
 is 16 feet wida; the depth of its water 14 inches, beautifully transparent, 
 with a swift current. The temperature of the water at seven o'clock in 
 the morning was 62°; whilst that of the air was 56°. After an hour's descent, 
 the breadth of the stream had enlarged to 25 feet, with a depth of 3 feet. 
 
 " Allen's Report, * page 44. 
 
[ 237 ] 60 
 
 For the first 25 or 30 miles, the bed of the river contracts or dilates, ac- 
 cording to the character of the shores. Its navigation is greatly impeded 
 by erratic rocks, trunks of fallen and decayed trees, as well as impending 
 branches of living ones, and rapids, which, in proportion to the changes of 
 level in the bed of the river, carried along our frail canoe with the rapidity 
 of an arrow, or left us, when wanting, m perfect repose. I may remark 
 here, that, on this river, like all those of this region of country, where, on 
 the narrowing of the valley, there grows nothing but willows and aquatic 
 plants on the shores, with a fine sand at hottom, its bed is peopled with in- 
 numerable shells, especially iinios and anodontce. So far, I saw not a soli- 
 tary fish. 
 
 We breakfasted at the foot of the rapids, where Lieutenant Allen informs 
 us his canoe was upset and his compass broken ; and having mentioned 
 this incident to Kcgwedzissoir, \\e immediately suspended his meal to go 
 upon an offering of tobacco and maple-sugar lo the spirit of the rapids, by 
 wliom we had been spared from a similar mishap. 
 
 Having by this lime descended from 40 to 50 miles below Itasca lake, 
 and within this distance observed the entrance of four rivers, 
 
 pcma^e"*^^^ Kegwcdzissag pointed out to us a naked bluffon the left bank 
 of the river as the commencement of an important portage, 
 leading to a pretty large lake on the Hauteurs des Torres, situated on one 
 of the forks of Wild Rice river, and whence there is a descent to the Red 
 river of the North. The Indian name of this portage is Ozaweioe-satagati; 
 which means, according to my apprehension, " to carry baggage from one 
 water to another;" and may be significantly rendered in English by "di- 
 viding-ridge portage." Here we met with ten canoes filled with Chippe- 
 ways, coming from lake Wijiibigoshish, who were about undertaking this 
 portage, on their way to the upland lakes to gather wild rice. 1 was much 
 surprised on seeing small nets depending from the prows and sterns ot these 
 canoes ; but we were told that an old man of the tribe pretended to have 
 discovered that there was an evil spirit lurking about the lake, of such a 
 nature as to be caught in a net like a butterfly ; who, however, if not thus 
 caught, was capable of doing a great deal of mischief In consequence of 
 which, all the women of the village busied themselves in making these nets, 
 and those of the canoes were then engaged in the same occupation. Leaving 
 these good people, we saw the valley expanding before us, showing at a 
 distance rmgnificent forests of evergreens, and presenting altogether a most 
 beautiful landscape. 
 
 At this stage of its progress the Mississippi river is wide, winding itself 
 in large folds, as if to take masterly possession of the country ; whilst its 
 waters are enlivened by innumerable flocks of wild fowl. Then comes 
 another contraction of the river, which soon opens again, and extends itself 
 to Pemidji-goT/iag, or Pcmidji lake, sometimes called lake Travers. So 
 far, the Mississippi has received the contribution often rivers; its wide and 
 flattened bed, completely covered by water, presents a lake (or rather pool) 
 from 40 to 50 miles square, clogged up with aquatic plants, with interme- 
 diary spaces of clear water, looking like channels ; but among which it is 
 difficult to discover the true course of the river, for, at certain seasons of the 
 year, the whole is nothing more than a marshy prairie. Thence we pro- 
 ceeded to the river La Place, thence to lake Irving, and lastly into lake 
 Pemidji, where we spent the night. 
 
61 [ 237 ] 
 
 Pemidji lake has not received from geographers the attention that 
 • ,•• 1 K ^^ merits; so that I cannot resist the temptation of descri- 
 Pemidji a e. j^-^^^ ^^^^ impression it made upon me. It is a magnificent 
 sheet of water, from 10 to 12 miles long, with a breadth of from 4 to 
 5, perfectly clear, and without islands ; the eye having a free command 
 over gently swelling hiils, receding, and thicldy wooded ; and it is said 
 that no other river but the Mississippi empties into it, save an obscure 
 rivulet at its northern extremity. I must confess that, in crossing it, 1 
 felt melancholy that, even with my artificial optics, I could not descry any 
 evidences of civilization — no cottage of the agriculturist; no meadows; 
 no herds ; nor any of those cultivated fields, whose mellow shades con- 
 trast so gracefully vvith the foliage of the forest. The piercing solitary 
 cry of the northern diver — the precursor, according to the Lidian tradition, 
 of high winds and hurricanes — was the only evidence of living nature 
 f that presented itself. 
 
 A few hours of navigation over sundry rapids brought us to lake Cass, 
 _ , which is another beautiful sheet of water studded vvith islands, 
 
 e ass. ^^^^ j^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^j^ described by Mr. Schoolcraft. I tarried here 
 not more than three hours, to make some astronomical observations ; and 
 having by this time acquired a full Indian faith in the prognostic cry of the 
 loon, 1 started for Leech lake, traversing some small intermediary lakes and 
 portages, which brought us upon the Kapakesngidov^ag. This is a beau* 
 tiful river, 33 yards wide, and 6 feet in depth. There is a profuve growth 
 of wild rice on its banks. From the entrance of this river into Leech lake, 
 we had 15 miles to travel in order to reach Otter-tail Point, where we ar- 
 rived at ten o'clock at night. Two hours afterwards, a violent tempest 
 burst over the lake. I thus arrived just in time to take shelter under the 
 hospitable roof of my respectable friend, the Rev. Mr. Boutwell, whose 
 residence is near a bay opposite to Otter tail Point, where I had my tents. 
 Indeed, it was high time for me to reach some place of rest, where I could 
 reduce my notes to order, as well as repair my shattered wardrobe. The 
 few days that 1 spent here, were days of quiet and happiness, and will ever 
 hereafter be most gratefully remembered. 
 
 In the mean time, Eshkifjogikoj, or Flat Mouth, the head chief of the 
 ■^ tribe inhabiting the borders of Leech lake, returned, after an absence of three 
 ' months, from a visit which he had made to the British trading posts to ob- 
 tain ammunition, to enable him to make war against the Sioux. "The 
 stain of Chippeway blood has been long enough on my grounds," said he, 
 "and it is time that I should wipe it out." He had come back, however, 
 disappointed ; for he obtained from them no other presents than are usually 
 bestowed at all trading posts on a chief of his importance. But as he had 
 informed his people that he would come back amply supplied, and had 
 boasted of the manner in which he was to be treated by the whites, his 
 pride had been wounded, and he was sad. He paid me a visit at the 
 reverend Mr. Uoutwell's, to let me know that, having learned that his men 
 had been very troublesome to me during his absence, he wished to commu- 
 nicate with me in council of the whole nation, so that I might form a bet- 
 ter opinion of them than I might be disposed to do after our first interview. 
 It became necessary, therefore, to nppoint a day. 
 
 I then returned to Otter tail Point, made several excursions around the 
 lake, and was present at a great number of the ceremonies performed by 
 
[ 237 ] 62 
 
 the Chippeways, whose numbers had increased to the whole amount of 
 those iuhabiting the shores of the other great lakes of this region. 
 
 The day on which the council was to take place, Desire came at day- 
 break to inform me that two large flags had been planted, and were floating 
 at the entrance of my tent. 1 rose immediately, and found that one was 
 that of the United States, the other that of Great Britain. I forthwith 
 sent my interpreter to the chief, Es/tlcibo^ikoj, informing him that I was 
 sensible of the honor that he intended me, but that I was not provided with 
 a forked tongue; that, if we were to meet in council, 1 doubtless would have 
 to reply to him ; this 1 could not do, but in presence of the flag under the 
 auspices of which 1 was then travelling : and that both at once could not 
 protect the same country. My interpreter soon returned, accompanied by 
 a messenger, Oshkabewis, bearing me an apology on the part of the chief, 
 who, he declared, had no other intention than to pay me a compliment, 
 and demonstrate to his nation the estimation in which he held me. The 
 British flag was accordingly removed. In fact, I had more than once sus- 
 pected liiat Fiat Mouth's intention was to talk in {-raise of the British, with 
 disparagement to the Americans ; which I could not, under circumstances, 
 tolerate. 
 
 The talk took place at the appointed time, and lasted nearly four hours ; 
 but I shall not narrate the long harangue 1 was compelled to listen to on 
 this occasion, any more than what 1 heard from the under chiefs and 
 speakers of the tribe, previous to my departure for the sources of the 
 Mississippi. Still, I took them down minutely as they were recited; and, 
 on referring to them, find them both curious and interesting, although con- 
 veyed in a style of great sameness: "The heavens were obscured by 
 clouds" — " our women and children were suflfering" — " we did not know 
 what to do" — "on thy arrival the sky has brightened up," (fee. The 
 harangue of the chief was, however, both ushered in and followed by in- 
 cidents very characteristic of Indian manners, the details of which 1 must 
 postpone for another occasion. 
 
 During three successive evenings I went to take tea with Eshkibogikoj^ 
 and drank it out of fine china ware. I showed him a snufi'box that 
 had been given to me by my friend Colonel Achille Murat, on my visit 
 to the Floridas, upon the lid of which was a full length portrait of Na- 
 poleon at St. Helena. The cliief took much notice of this portrait, and 
 <juestioned me largely about this great warrior, whom he named Napo- 
 neon; the Chippeway tongue being deficient in the consonant letter /. 
 He frequently asked me for the box; and, contemplating it, would say, 
 " Well, it is strange, on whatever side I turn it, the figure looks at me, 
 and seems to say ' thou art my brother warrior.' " 1 need scarcely add, 
 that these three long evenings spent with Eshkibogikoj were full of in- 
 struction. 
 
 By the bye, the Chippeway tribe inhabiting the shores of Leech lake 
 have received from the Indian traders the name of pillagers, (pilleiirs,) 
 in consequence of some suspicious transactions of which Mr. Schoolcraft 
 has given an account in his narrative of an expedition to Itaska lake. 
 They have adopted this cognomen as their 7iom de bataille; calling them- 
 selves, in their own tongue, Makajidwi/, which means pillagers; or Ma- 
 Jcandwe-iniiiniwug, a pillaging people. 
 
 The circuit ©f Leech lake, including its indentations, is not less than 
 160 miles. It is next in size to Red lake, which is said to be 200 miles 
 
63 [ 237 ] 
 
 in circumference. The former has tu'enty-seven tributaries, of various 
 sizes. A solitary river issues from it, known by ifie name of Leech Lake 
 river, forming an important outlet from 100 to 120 feet wide, with a depth 
 of from 6 to 10 feet. It has a moderate current, without any obstruction, 
 and flows into the Mississippi after a course of from 45 to 50 miles. 
 
 To be more particular in the description of Leech lake, I may add 
 that it has nine large bays, and presents six prominent points, the timbered 
 features of wliich are fast disappearing beneath the ravages of trie Chip- 
 ' peways. Francis Brunei, my guide, who sounded some parts of the 
 lake, informed me that its depth, from Otter tail Point across to the oppo- 
 site bay, varies from six to ten fathoms. The fish of the lake, the wild rice 
 of the bays, and maple sugar, are the three great natural resources of the 
 Chippeways. The fisheries are abundant at all seasons, but it is princi- 
 pally in the spring and fall that they are most so, and are carried on to 
 /much advantage. With two nets, set over night, from 400 to 500 fish 
 may be calculated upon by next morning; which are dried for winter 
 provisions. 
 
 The population of Leech lake was, in 1836, estimated at about 1,000 
 souls, furnishing about ISO warriors. If any reliance could be placed on 
 the stability of the Indians, this result might be used as indicating an in- 
 crease of population since 1832, when Mr. Schoolcraft made it 800 ; but 
 these people are too nomadic for such conclusions to be relied on. 
 
 The English name of the lake (which, in the Chippeway tongue, is Ka- 
 sagaskwa-djimeliang) implies, m both languages, that its waters contain a 
 remarkable number of leeches. 
 
 On leaving Leech lake, I had the rare advantage, in these parts, of sail- 
 ing down a great part of Leech Lake river, as well as the great savannah, 
 which follows, as far as Red-oak Point. This savannah, as it is called, 
 is an extensive marshy bottom, rilled with canes, reeds, and other aquatic 
 plants, the disposition of which divides the waters of the Mississippi into 
 a great number of channels ; from which, however, (thanks to the good- 
 ness of my guide,) we succeeded in extricating ourselves. Thence we 
 descended to the KakabikoJis, or Little-severed rock, where there is a 
 small fall in the river. This spot is three miles lower than Pa/ce-go-mag, 
 ^a name applied by the Chippeways to all sheets of water in the vicinity of 
 la river. Kakahikoiis (or simply Kabikons) rapids, as 1 have laid them 
 ^own upon the map, have a fall of nine feet in a distance of eighty yards. 
 The rock over which they flow is a gray quarzite, forming the banks and 
 bed of the river ; whence it probably crops out on the St. Louis river, 
 where are found calciferous and argillaceous steaschist, conglomerates 
 formed of quartz pebbles, and bound together by steaschist, containing snlph- 
 i:rcl of iron, and a sandstone which may be possibly referred to the old red 
 sandstone. As, on the day that I passed it, the Mississippi was pretty high, 
 the fall of the rapids did not appear to me so great as it did to other trav- 
 ellers at other seasons. 
 
 From Kabikons, the country which follows, as far as Sandy lake, as well 
 as that which precedes it, having been fully described by Messrs. School- 
 craft and Allen, 1 have nothing to add. 1 must, however, in this place, ex- 
 press my sense of gratitude to Mr. W. Aitkins, the agent of the American 
 Fur Company at Sandy lake, for the many kind attentions paid me during 
 my stay in his family. 
 
[ 237 ] 64 
 
 From Sandy lake to Crow-wino: river and island, (misnamed by the voy- 
 ageurs riviere aux Corheavx and Ue atix Corbeaux,) the Mississippi might- 
 be navignted by small steamboats. 
 
 At certain seasons it may be ascended even as high as Kabikons, for the 
 smaller rapids that occur in the intermediale distance of 246 miles would 
 have escaped my observation, (the waters being at their mean stage of 
 elevation.) if they had not been pointed out to me by my guide as we passed 
 over them. 
 
 Over the whole route which I traversed after leaving Crow-wing river, 
 the country has a difl'erent aspect from that which the banks of the Missis- 
 sippi above the falls of St. Anihotiy present. The forests are denser 
 and more varied; the soil, which is alternately sandy, gravelly, clayey, and 
 loamy, is, generally speaking, lighter, excepting on the shores of some of 
 the larger lakt-s. The uplands are covered with white and yellow pines, 
 spruce, and birch ; and the wet low lands by the American larch and the 
 willow. On the slopes of sandy hills, the American aspen, the canoe birch, 
 with a species of birch of dwarfish growth, the alder, and wild rose, extend 
 to the very margin of the river. On the borders of the larger lakes, where 
 the soil is generally better, we find the sugar-maple, the black and bar 
 oaks, (also named over cup white oak, but differing from the white oak,) 
 the elm, ash, lime tree, &.c. Generally speaking, however, this wood-land 
 does not extend back farther than a mile from the lakes. The while cedar, 
 the hemlock, spruce pine, and fir, are occasionally found ; but the red 
 cedar is scarce throughout this region, and none, perhaps, are to be seen 
 but on islands of those lakes called by the Indians Red Ctdar lakes. 
 The shrubbery consists principally of the wild rose, hawthorn, and wild 
 plum; and raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cranberries are 
 abundant. 
 
 The aspect of the country is greatly varied by hills, dales, copses, small 
 prairies, and a great number of lakes ; the whole of which I do not pre- 
 tend to have laid down on my map. The natural beauties of the country 
 are, however, impressed with a character of sternness and melancholy; the 
 silence and solitude of which are interrupted or revived only by the flocks 
 of water-fowl that congregate about its waters, to nestle amidst and fatten 
 upon the wild rice. The naturalist, however, has still an endless field 
 of observations in the insect world, for everywhere life manifests itself 
 in some form or other. It is, indeed, remarkable, that the more we ad- 
 vance to the north, (to within a certain extent, nevertheless,) the mere the 
 mosquito appears to be abundant, as every voyageur knows by sad ex- 
 perience. 
 
 The lakes to which 1 have just alluded are distributed in separate 
 groups, or are arranged in prolonged chains along the rivers, and not un- 
 Irequently attached to each other by gentle rapids. It has seemed to me 
 that they diruinish in extent on both sides of the Mississippi, as we proceed 
 southwardly, as far as 43*^ of north latitude; and this observation ex- 
 tends to the Arctic Region, commencing at Bear's lake, or Slave lake, Win- 
 nipeg lake, &c. It may be fufther remarked, that the basins of these lakes 
 have a sufficient depth to leave no doubt that they will remain characteris- 
 tic features of the country for a long time to come. Several species of 
 fish abound in them. The white fish (corregonxis albvs) is found in all 
 the deep lakes west of the Mississippi — and, indeed, from lake Erie to 
 the Polar sea. That which is taken in Leech lake, is said by amateurs 
 
65 I 237 J 
 
 to be more highly flavored than even that of lake Superior, and weighs 
 from three to tetl pounds. There is another species of this white fish, 
 called by the Indians (uUbj/, or ottnniby, (the corregouus artedi,) which 
 resembles it, but is much less esteemed. Both species furnish a wholesome 
 and palatable food. Among the other species of fi^h that inhabit these 
 waters, are the inashkinonge. or viashkilonge ; the pike, or jack-fish ; the 
 pickerel, or gilt carp; the sucker, or tiue carp; the perch ; a species of trout, 
 called by the Chippeways na?nogu,s, &c., (fcc. These lakes, which are 
 somewhat deep, swarm with leeches ; and, among the amphibious reptiles, 
 there are several species of terrapin and turtle, of which Mr. Say has de- 
 scribed three of each kind in the appendix to the Second Expedition of 
 Major Long. 
 
 The portage between these lakes and rivers is eiTected by means of in- 
 tricate paths ; the key to which it would be well to have, as, without it, an 
 Indian war in this quarter might present still more difficulties than those 
 experienced in Florida. For this reason, 1 have been particularly careful 
 in laying these portages down on the map. which I could not have done 
 had 1 adopted a smaller scale. It must be borne in mind, that in this re- 
 gion, during six months of the year, no use can be made of either horses or 
 carriages ; it is absolutely necessary to have recourse to bark canoes. Any 
 one consulting the map to study the portages, will soon perceive that an 
 enemy, after crossing one of the larger lakes, may make his escape in al- 
 most all directions, "in this respect^its utility becomes, 1 think, obvious, 
 not only to travellers, but to the civil and military department of the na- 
 tional administration. 
 
 Of all the Indian nations that I have visited, the Chippeways inhabiting 
 tl e country about the sources of the Mississippi are decidedly the most 
 favored. Besides their natural resources (to which I have already referred) 
 of fish, wild rice, and maple sugar, with the addition of an abundance of 
 game, the climate is found to he well adapted to the culture of corn, wheat, 
 barley, oats, and pulse. The potato is of superior quality to that of the 
 middle States of the Union. In a trading point of view, the hunt is very 
 profitable. Tke bear, the deer and elk,' the wolf, the fox, the wolverine, 
 the fisher-racoon, muskrat, mink, otter, marten, weasel, and a few remain- 
 ing beavers, are the principal articles of this traffic. The American moose 
 (the original, or orgnal, of the Canadians) still occasionally makes its ap- 
 pearance. Kegwedzissag killed one near the river La Place, two weeks 
 before he ascended it with me ; so that this region may be considered as 
 the only one within the territory of the United States now capable of sup- 
 plying the finer sort of peltries. Accordingly, since 1839, the American 
 Fur Company, represented by Pierre Chouteau & Co., of St. Louis, has 
 almost entirely suspended operations in the Rocky Mountains, where they 
 formerly employed from 4<i0 to 500 trappers and hunters, nearly 1,000 
 horses, from 2,000 to 3,000 traps, and bartered off annually from fifteen to 
 twenty thousand dollars worth of merchandise. In 1840, the principal 
 tradiiio-posts were withdrawn, the company limiting itself to the purchase 
 of bufidio robes, and other peltries of less value. This company could no 
 longer compete with that of the Hudson Bay. as the American Congress 
 had refused to grant it certain privileges. The enormous duties which it 
 paid on merchandise imported for its own special commerce, and those 
 which were levied by the British government, defeated the object of these 
 operations, or rendered them too onerous. 
 
[ 237 ] i66 
 
 It may be that, under present circunistances, this subject deserves the 
 attention of Congress, It is painful to rttlect that the -British trade has 
 entirely superseded the American on tlie wliole of the Oregon Territory, at 
 A time when the nation thinks of laying claims to its rights over it. A 
 few hundred hunters well acqiiuinted with the climate and the charac- 
 ter of the Indians, might one day consiilulo a mo^t valuable force ; and 
 as it is the interest of a government to protect its commerce, it might 
 rely safely, in its turn, upon this force, to defend the rights and honor of the 
 nation. 
 
 The territory of the Chippeways, the exploration of which I had just 
 finished, as well as that of the iSioux, upon which I was entering, had 
 been for many years tranquil. This is, beyond a doubt, to be uttributed 
 to the firmness of tlie Indian agents, Messrs. Taliaferro and H. 
 Schoolcraft, in enforcing the law of 1S32, prohibiting the introduction 
 of ardent spirits; in which ellorts they were warmly supported by Col- 
 onel Davenport, the commander at Fort Snelling, and Messrs. H. Sibley 
 and William Aiikin, agents of the American Fur Company for the re- 
 gions of St. Peter's and of Sandy lake. 1 found the same condition of 
 things in 1837. 1838, and 1839, when the post was under the command of 
 Major PlympioH ; for, during those years, I continued to explore the 
 vast regions occupied by these two great nations. Then it was 1 bade a 
 .last adieu to the unconstrained liberty of the children of the forest, who, it 
 requires no great foresight to anticipate, will soon have to yield to the re- 
 straints of civilization. It gives me pleasure to have this opportunity of 
 thanking the above-named public functionaries, in the name of morals and 
 humanity. 
 
 The Sioux, or Ndakolahs, occupied formerly the region about the 
 sources of the Mississippi, and a large portion of that extending to ihe 
 Missouri — (orming, at this time, the Iowa Territory. They had not as 
 yet crossed (he Missouri ; and it is only three years since the invasion of 
 their country by the Chippoways, when, losing ground to the north, they 
 sought to extend themselves to the south and west, at the expense of 
 the lowas, the Ottoes, the Missourias, and other nations. At this day 
 the Tilonv^ans, the seventh tribe of the Sioux, pitch their tents as far 
 as the sources of ihe river Platte ; whilst the Yanktons and the Yank- 
 tonans, which form the fifth and sixth tribes, pilch theirs near the Mandaii 
 country. 
 
 Formerly, the Sioux bands had their hunting camp principally on the 
 borders ol Leech lake, or of Mbisi sagaif^on ing^"" or Mille Lacs. These 
 bands are mostly composed of the Mdeuakantonwans, and of Warpeton- 
 wans, the first and second tribes ; and ihey are designated, collectively, as 
 the lssan-li,t Issan ati, or Jssan oti — that is to say, tliose havinsr their 
 lodges on sharp stones, as may be inferred from the writings of Father 
 Hennepin, who remained v. prisoner lor several months with one of these 
 
 • This uame is derived from minsi, all sons, or everywhere, &c ; sagaigon, lake; and ing, 
 which is a leritiiDauon used lo indicate a place; so ibe meaniog of (be word iii " place where 
 there are all sorLs of lakes," which the French have rendered into Mille Lacs. Mini is an ot>- 
 fuleie word; it is now pronounced misi, or ni^i. 
 
 t From issan, a sharp stone, but now also applied to signify the " knife sold to them by ihe 
 traders;" U, h;ibiiaiion, large lodge; and o, location particle. 
 
67 [ 237 ] 
 
 bands, on the St. Francis river, near the Jssantis, named TiiUonivatis, or 
 " village of the prairies," but which must not be mistaken for the Titon- 
 wans cited above, the name of which means " village of the large lodge, 
 or large habitation." 
 
 We find still some confusion on the maps as regards the name of M'msi- 
 sagaigon-ing. Some have it laid down as M'llle Lacs ; others as Spirit 
 lake ; and on others, again, it appears as two lakes, with (separately) both 
 names. The ambiguity arises from the fact that the same lake has been 
 named by two nations. The one v/hich I have adopted is from the Chip- 
 peways ; that by which it is known to the Sioux is Miniionkan — meaning, 
 literally, water spirit ; but, in this case, intended to signify ardent spirits. 
 The river that issues from this lake has been named Rum river by the 
 traders; which appellation the Chippeways have translated into Ishkode- 
 wabo, or ardent spirits ; and the Sioax into Mdote-miniwakan^ or outlet 
 of the ardent spirits. 
 
 As coming events will most probably render it necessary for the United 
 States to establish, on the Upper Mississippi, a military post more distant 
 than that of the present Fort Snelling, I might, perhaps, suggest the mouth 
 of the Wabezi, or Swan river, where Major Pike had his encampment, 
 as an eligible strategic position. By placing the post on the right bank 
 of the Mississippi, it would command this great river, and overlook the 
 portages that are in the rear, by which marauders coming from the north 
 might make incursions upon the St. Peter's. The mouth of Kagi-ivig wan, 
 or "Crow-wing river, might also be used ; but as it is necessary to occupy 
 the right bank of the Mississippi, (which cannot be the case if the Crow- 
 wing be selected,) this circumstance, added to others, deprives this place of 
 its military importat^ce. 
 
 When 1 arrived at the St. Peter's, on my return from the sources of the 
 Mississippi, there came on a spell of cold weather, which threatened to ice- 
 bind both rivers. It seemed that the winter was about to set in, in earnest, 
 and I had made up my mind to remain in the country. Accordingly, I 
 gladly took advantage of M^jor Taliaferro's offer of a room in the small 
 building used by him as an office, located near his dwelling, and a quarter 
 of a mile from Fort Snelling. We were then only in the beginning of 
 October, and the Indian summer (which is beautiful in the valley of the 
 Mississippi) soon brought around several weeks of mild weather, that re- 
 opened the navigation. It was not until the 10th of November that it be- 
 came entirely impeded by ice, 1 might have escaped from this enchanted 
 spot ; but felt myself so much at home, that I occupied myself in the study 
 of the Chippeway and Sioux languages. As these two nations were on 
 peaceable terms, St. Peter's, the headquarters of the Sioux, became a gen- 
 eral rendezvous lor both, when I had the most favorable opportunities of 
 continuing my observations on the customs of the Indians, assisting at all 
 their medicine dances, and their winter and spring ceremonies. I enjoyed, 
 besides, all the pleasures arising from the friendly intercourse with the offi- 
 cers of the fort, and the families in the neighborhood. And although, at 
 one spell through the winter, the thermometer fell as low as 10^ and 20° 
 below zero, and once as low as 30°, my time was, nevertheless, thanks to 
 my good quarters, most agreeably spent. 
 
 St. Peter's is, in my opinion, the finest site on the Mississippi river ; 
 the natural beauties of its environs adding to its importance and grandeur. 
 Upon reaching this place, the traveller is already premonished of the mag- 
 
t 237 ] 68 
 
 nificent scenery which he will enjoy in ascending the river through its 
 long, narrow, and deep v.illey. At the confluence of the St. Peter's and 
 the Mississippi, there is an extensive and fertile plateau reaching far to the 
 west, and presenting to the delighted gaze a level country, interrupted 
 by moderate undulations of the surface, and beautified by intervening 
 prairies, tracts of wood-land, and lakes. Fort Snelling is located on the 
 rocky point at this confluence of the two rivers, the sight of which in- 
 spires a sentiment of self-protection in the civilized man thus confronted 
 with the wilderness. Looking to the right of the fort, we behold a con- 
 tinuation of the valley of the Mississippi, whilst to the left begins that 
 of the St. Peter's. The former has a character of sternness, produced 
 by the denuded and abrupt escarpments of its banks, the wear of which 
 forms rude taluses at their bases. The latter is more graceful, having 
 gently sloping borders, divided into natural terraces, covered by a luxu- 
 riant grassy sward. Three miles from Fort Snelling, and 'on the right 
 bank of the Mississippi, there is a very pretty cascade. Four miles fur- 
 ther, we reach the celebrated Falls of St. Anthony, which, examined in 
 detail, with the noisy boiling of its waters, rebounding in jets from the 
 accumulated debris at its foot, its ascending vapors, and the long and 
 verdant island that separates the two portions of the falls, with the soli- 
 tary rocky island that stands in front, altogether form a grand and imposing 
 spectacle. 
 
 From St. Anthony's Falls may be visited the Lake of the Isles, Lake 
 Calhoun, Lake Harriet, and other lakes. Then, crossing the St. Peter's 
 near its mouth, the traveller ascends the Pilot Knob, from the summit of 
 which he enjoys a magnificent view, embracing the whole surrounding 
 horizon; and if he will conclude his excursion by going to two natural 
 grottoes in the vicinity, should his journey have commenced under the 
 auspices of a bright rising sun, he may flatter himself that it has been most 
 actively and pleasurably performed. 
 
 The name of St. Peters, (the St. Pierre of the French,) it appears, has 
 been immemorially given to the spot or landing at the mouth of the 
 river St. Peter's ; but whence the name is not known. Father Hennepin, 
 who was the first to visit the Falls of St. Anthony, in 1680, makes no 
 mention of this river; but his book is written very confitsedly, and, as he 
 gives no details of his route, perhaps had no occasion to visit it, and was 
 also molested by the Sioux, the omission is explicable. On the other hand, 
 Lesueur, in the journal of his third journey, in 1700, names the St. Pe- 
 ter's as familiarly known and acknowledged by traders. As for my part, 
 I have no hesitation in assigning its origin to a Canadian by the name 
 of De St. Pierre, who resided for a long time thereabouts. Carver, in. 
 referring to the supposed fortifications which he visited below Lake 
 Pepin, nientions a Mr. De St. Pierre; but this- was sixty-four years after 
 the travels of Lesueur. However, waiving any further inquiry into the 
 origin of this name, it is desirable that it should not be changed, because 
 it is an important link in the hibtory of the geographical discoveries made 
 in this region, as well as a constant point of reference by travellers over it ; 
 so that any change would throw additional obscurity upon the early his- 
 tory of the country. 
 
 The name which the Sioux give to the St. Peter's river is Mini sotah; 
 and to St. Peters as a station, Mdote mini sotah. The adjective solafi 
 is of difl^cult translation. The Canadians translate it by a pretty equiva- 
 
69 [ 237 ] 
 
 lent French word, brouille— perhaps most properly rendered into English 
 by blear; as, for instance, minisoiah, blear water, or the entrance of the 
 blear water. I have entered upon this explanation, becanse the word 
 sotah really means neither clear nor turbid, as some authors have asserted; 
 its true meaning being readily found in the Sioux expression is/da sotah, 
 blear eyed. After the same manner, they call the Falls of St. Anthony rara 
 — from irara, to laugh— descriptive of the imitative sound they are sup- 
 posed to produce. The Chippeways are more accurate; by them, the falls 
 are called Kakabiknh., or severed rock ; and the St. Peter's river, Ashkibogi- 
 Sibil the Green Leaf river. 
 
 From actual measurements made by Mr. H. Sibley and myself, the width 
 of the St. Peter's at the crossing-place, above its confluence, is 320 feet; 
 that of the Mississippi, below Fort Snelling, and outside of the gorge 
 whence it issues, is 576 feet. The intervening space between these two 
 measured spots is the rocky point on which the fort stands, and a grassy 
 bottom, the whole measuring 1,263 feet. The mean height of the plain 
 supporting Fort Snelling and the Indian agency is 106 feet above the com- 
 mon low water of the two rivers 3 and the height of the Pilot Knob above 
 the same level, 262 feet. 
 
 Of the numerous springs that issue from the foot of the adjoining 
 bluflfs, there is one particularly deserving of notice. It is very abundant, 
 and perfectly shaded. It goes by the name of Baker's spring. Having 
 taken its temperature three times a day during twenty days of the month 
 of July, 1836, and then again during the following winter months, I never 
 found it to vary more than 46*^ in July, and 45° 5' in January. Either 
 cipher may then be taken as the mean annual temperature of the climate 
 of St. Peter's; and this result accords with the thermometrical observations 
 made during several years at Fort Snelhng, which gives the mean at 45° 
 37'.* 
 
 The geolo^jical account of this district is plainly expressed : it embraces 
 the rocks forming the upper strata of the formation which characterizes 
 the Mississippi bluffs from the Prairie du Chien to this place ; the whole 
 series of which to the west, in the most prominent localities, has been de- 
 scribed by Professors Troost, Hildreth, Locke, Owen, Mather, and James 
 E. Hall, in their several reports, officially printed, or otherwise furnished 
 to the scientific records of the day. 
 
 The geological features of the country, in the ascent of the Mississippi, 
 from the St. Peter's to the Falls of St. Anthony, are as follows: 
 
 1. Fine grained, unstratified sandstone, constituting the base of the 
 bluff, and ranging in thickness between 60 and 80 feet, of a very friable 
 character; each grain being a crystalline fragment of quartz. In some 
 parts of the mass, the grains are stained with oxide of iron ; while in others, 
 they are perfectly white. It is probable that the sand furnished by the 
 latter would serve in the manufacture of glass. 
 
 2. A compact sublamellar limestone of variable colors, as fawn, yellow- 
 ish-buff", or grayish. It contains many fossils, but very irregularly dis- 
 tributed in the mass; some being covered with brilliant crystals of car- 
 bonate of lime, and others entirely mineralized. This bed is from 8 to 
 12 fdet thick, weathering into layers of from two inches to a fo^t thick. 
 The limestone under consideration resembles much, in mineralogical 
 
 * Army Meteorological Regi.sier, p. 95. Philadelphia, 1840. 
 
[ 237 ] 70 
 
 characters, that which has been named cliff limestone by Dr. Locke in 
 his Report on the Geology of the State of Ohio, and which has been 
 more recently again described by Dr. Owen in his Report on the Mineral 
 Region of Illinois and of Iowa.* Should the two rocks be identical, 
 No. 2 of the preceding section would then be the equivalent of the 
 Western blue limestone of these geologists ; with the difference, that the 
 two rocks are here less developed than in the other localities observed by 
 them. 
 
 3. Soil, consisting of sand, gravel, and clay, mixed with the disintegra- 
 tion of the limestone in place, and amidst which there are erratic blocks 
 scattered over the plains and on the slopes of the hills, and which are 
 traced to the summits of the Pilot Knob. 
 
 I do not deem it necessary to make any further subdivision of this group 
 of rocks, which has already been described by the late Professor W. H. 
 Keating, in the account of Major Long's second expedition, as well as by 
 Mr. G.VV. Featherstonhaugh, in his official "Report of a Geological Re- 
 connoissance," (fee. ; and by Mr. W. W. Mather, in another report, also in- 
 tended to be official, but never published, and which he has been kind 
 enough to communicate to me. 
 
 We may differ as to the exact position of this group of rocks in the 
 geological series ; but as this is a matter to be decided by reference to its 
 fossil contents, 1 refer the geological reader to appendix C, in which I 
 have given an ample catalogue of those collected by me from the St. Pe- 
 ter's to the Falls of St. Anthony. There are among them some new- 
 species, that should be described and figured. 1 have been assisted in 
 the determination of them by my friend Mr. T. A. Conrad, whose well- 
 known skill as a palaeontologist will be a sufficient guarantee of its ac- 
 curacy. I may remark here, that it will be seen that this list of fossils 
 embraces a iew species of the Trenlon limestone, as described by the 
 New York geologists; whence we might infer that the group of St. Pe- 
 ter's characterizes a rock of the same age as that which contains the lead 
 at Galena, and which may probably be an upper portion of the Trenton 
 limestone, newer than any part of that formation hitherto observed in the 
 State of New York. To complete the catalogue, I have added to it a 
 list of the Galena fossils, of which I possess an interesting collection, 
 embracing some valuable specimens given to me by my friend Dr. H. 
 King. Those interested in the subject will«thus be enabled to compare 
 the formations at St. Peters with those of Galena, and test the accuracy 
 of the geological deduction expressed above. On the other hand, as it is 
 always necessary to have as great a number of fossils as possible, when 
 we wish to identify formations at a great distance from each other, these, 
 added to those published by Dr. Owen and Dr. Locke, may, perhaps, aid 
 in a comparison of the rocks of the west with the silurian system de- 
 scribed by the New York geologists, and perchance throw some light on 
 the connexion that exists between these and the other stratified rock,s 
 of this continent, as well as those of Europe. The fossils are classified 
 
 ♦ The friend-; of science and the people of the west have reason to regret that this valuable 
 report has not been published wiih the necessary diagrams, which the author had prepared to 
 illustrate his text ; and that Congress did not see fit to grant the appropriation asked by the 
 Secretary of the Treasury for the republication of a second and more complete edition. 
 
71 [ 237 ] 
 
 •according to the division adopted by Doctors Locke and Owen, in their 
 report of the Galena group. 
 
 Mr. Featherstonhangh has corrected an error into whic'n Mr. Keating 
 had been led, by mistaking the fallen masses of the uppermost stratum 
 of limestone in the bed of the river at St. Peter's for underlying rocks in 
 place. These fragmentary rocks were there, in fact, when Mr. Keating 
 visited the spot, of which I have satisfied myself; but they have since' 
 disappeared, and, at all events, were not there in July, 1836. They were; 
 most probably removed, partly by attrition, and the dissolving properties' 
 of the waters of tlie river, which are highly charged with carbonic acid. 
 A weathering of this sort is accordingly observed on both sides of the 
 Mississippi, on a distance of eight miles, from St. Peter's to the Falls of 
 St. Anthony ; at which latter spot it takes place to a greater extent. The" 
 underlying sandstone, being very friable, is easily acted on by meteoric and'^ 
 atmospheric agencies. The first effect of these is to form excavations in^ 
 the sandstone, which, crum.bling in, carries along the superincumbent' 
 limestone thus deprived of its support. 
 
 In ascending the Mississippi in this last-mentioned distance, the trav- 
 eller is astonished to find its bed so little encumbered by the debris of 
 Ihis limestone ; and at the St. Anthony, he is still more surprised not to- 
 find a larger accumulation of detritus at the foot of its falls. This is" 
 owing to the solvent properties of the water previously alluded to; so* 
 that I have not the least doubt that the limestone at one time covered arii-' 
 exteuvsive tract of country, and that the waters reaching the sandstone;! 
 the result of this species of denudation has brought about the peculiar ' 
 configuration of the surface in this region of country, as seen on the 
 left bank of the Mississippi, going from the St. Peter's to Carver's cave, 
 and over the whole district watered by La Hontan and Vermillion river?,' 
 and other places. These causes of erosion are doubtless still in fullac-' 
 tivity, and hence I am inclined to think that the recession of the Falls of' 
 St. Anthony is much more rapid than is generally supposed. As it is 
 possible to find elements for the measurement of this result, 1 made sur- 
 veys of the locality in the month of March, 1839. I have appended to 
 this report a chart of the falls, exhibiting diagrams of their dimensions at 
 that time, which will enable future generations to calculate the progress 
 of their annual recession. The limit of the geological formation of St. 
 Peter's is a mile above the falls, at the creek to which I have assigned 
 the name of Falls creek on my m;ip. When the falls shall have reached 
 this spot, it is probable they will come in contact with crystalline rocks 
 forming the bed of the Mississippi, and consequently the recession will be 
 infinitely slower. 
 
 As it is important, in geology, to determine the precise limits of forma- 
 tions, I shall add a few words on this subject. The geological formation 
 of St. Peter's continues to show itself in the river of the same name, and 
 goes on thinning out as far as Waraju river, (the riviere aux Liards oi 
 the French.) and there it disappears. Hence it passes to the headwaters 
 o{ Mankato river, crosses the southern part of the Ceteau des Prairies^ and 
 finally loses itself in the Missouri, Sioux, and Iowa rivers, as previously 
 explained when describing the extent of the cretaceous formation. To 
 the east, starting from St. Anthony's Fails, it may conjectu rally be staled 
 to cross the St. Croix, make its appearance on Manomin, Chippeway, and 
 Sapak rivers, not far from the rapids and falls of these rivers, and thea 
 
I 237 ] 72 
 
 passing through the upper portion of Wisconsin, reaches the State ol 
 iVIichigan. 
 
 The two natural caves which I have mentioned above, are on the left 
 banic of the Mississippi — one four miles below St. Peter's, and the other 
 eight miles. Both are in the sandstone, but at different elevations. The 
 former is on a level with the river, and is reached through a short ravine, 
 along the limpid streamlet that issues from it. Many authors have thought 
 this to be the cave described by Carver, but erroneously. It would, in 
 fact, be only necessary to compare the locality with Carvers description, 
 to be at once convinced. The cave now referred to is of recent forma- 
 tion. The aged Sioux say that it did not exist formerly. They attach 
 no consequence to it. It has to them no ceremonial association. They 
 scarcely ever visit it, and there are none of their hieroglyphics upon its 
 sides or floor. It owes its formation to the dislocation and decomposition, 
 of the upland limestone, which have left sloughy places; the waters of 
 which have penetrated into the sandstone, wearing it away, and giving 
 origin to the streamlet that issues from it. Tiie location of this cave is on 
 my map designated as the iiew cave. 
 
 The second, four miles below the former, is that described by Carver. 
 Its entrance has been, for more than thirty years, closed by the disintegra- 
 ted debris of the limestone capping the sandstone in which it is located. 
 On the 3d of July, 1837, with the assistance of Messrs. Campbell and 
 Q.uinn — the former an interpreter for the Sioux, the latter for the Chip- 
 peways — 1 set about clearing this entrance ; which, by-the-bye, was no 
 easy work, for on the 5th we were about abandoning the job, when, 
 unexpectedly, we found that we had made an opening into it ; and al- 
 though we had not entirely disencumbered it of its rubbish, I saw enough 
 to satisfy me of the accuracy of Carver's description. The lake mentioned 
 by him is there ; but I could only see a segment of the cave, a portion of 
 its roof being too near the surface of the water to enable me to proceed any 
 farther. A Chippeway warrior made a long harangue on the occasion ; 
 throwing his knife into the lake, as an offering to Wakatiiibi, the spirit of 
 the grottoes. 
 
 The ascent to the cave is by a rapid slope : and on the rocks that form 
 a wall to the left, there are a number of ancient Sioux hieroglyphics, that 
 mean nothing more than to indicate the names of Indians that have at 
 various times visiied this natural curiosity. 
 
 On leaving the cave and reaching the river, a stroll of a few yards to 
 the left, by keeping close to the rocks, brought us upon a sweet, limpid, 
 and copious sjjring, which had remained for a loncj time unknown, in 
 consequence of the shingle and brush that conceal its outlet. This is 
 evidently the issue of the waters of the Grotto lake ; and their abundance 
 indicates that the lake is v/ell fed, and doubtless occupies a considerable 
 space within the mountain. On the high grounds above the cave there are 
 some Indian mounds, to which the Indians belonging to the tribe of Mdewa- 
 kantoniauus formerly transported the bones of the deceased members of 
 their families. 
 
 I regret that I cannot, in this place, and at this time, introduce some 
 irovel and interesting details concerning the seven tribes that compose 
 this great nation of the Sioux. But want of health principally, together 
 ■with want of lime on this particular occasion, prevent me. I have, then, 
 no more to do to close this report, than to submit some special considera- 
 
78 [ 237 ] 
 
 tions on the Territory of Iowa, which its present political condition may, 
 it is believed, justify. 
 
 At the conclusion of the hostihties between the United States and the 
 Sac and Fox Indians, in 1832, they were required to surrender a strip of 
 country along- the right or western bank of the Mississippi, extending 
 from the northern boundary of Missouri on the south, to what are called 
 the neutral <!:rounds to the north ; averaging about 180 miles in length by 
 50 in breadth, and containing about 9,000 square miles. Major General 
 Winfield Scott was the principal agent of the United States in acquiring 
 this portion of the Indian lands, and hence it was often called " Scott's 
 purchase ;" as also the " Black Hawk purchase," after the name of the In- 
 dian leader during the outbreak alluded to. But, in 1836, my friend Al- 
 bert M. Lea, esq., then a lieutenant of dragoons, published a map and de- 
 scription of the country, which he called the " Iowa district'' — a name both 
 euphonious and appropriate, being derived from the Iowa river, the extent, 
 beauty, and importance of which were then first made known to the public. 
 
 A few flimilies settled upon spots within this district immediately after 
 the purchase ; but they were ordered off by the United States troops, as 
 the time that the Indians were allowed to remain did not expire until the 
 1st of June, 1833. After this, the population went on steadily and rapidly 
 increasing. In 1834, Congress passed an act attaching this district to the 
 then Territory of Michigan, for judicial purposes ; but other relations be- 
 ing established between this last mentioned Territory and the general gov- 
 ernment, it was not until the 4th of July, 1838, that the Territory of Iowa 
 was organized, with a population of 30,000 souls. It may be well to re- 
 mark, that additional tracts of land having been subsequently purchased 
 from the Indians in 1836 and 1837, tlie district was increased, so as to 
 cover an area of 11,000 square miles. 
 
 The whole amount of the territory then, including what was separated 
 from it on July 4th, 1836, for political purposes, to organize the Territory 
 of Wisconsin, had its limits from the Mississippi on the east, to the Missouri 
 on the south and west, extending to the British possessions in latitude 49*: 
 north. 
 
 These limits are surely very extensive ; but, as the question of the proper 
 limits of this prospective State, destined soon to take its place in the 
 Union, is important in its relations to other States yet to arise, and there 
 being but few persons acquainted with the interior of the broad region em- 
 braced by the map, it may not be inappropriate to suggest, in conclusion of 
 a short account of this region, some views as to the most eligible limits to 
 be given to these several States. 
 
 In a few years more, the fertile country along the borders of the present 
 settlements will have been occupied by civilized men, cultivators of the soil. 
 It will then be divided into new States ; but, as it is known that a broad 
 belt of uninhabitable fiat country lies between the borders just mentioned 
 and the Rocky mountains, it becomes a difficult and yet necessary problem 
 to divide this portion into the most convenient forms, variously to accom- 
 modate the States that will gradually arise. 
 
 But I may remark, in the first place, that two States may be formed west 
 of the trans-Mississippian States of Arkansas and Missouri ; and then, 
 by taking about equal portions of each side of the Missouri river, era- 
 bracing thu mouth of Platte river, we have a third State, with a good and 
 well watered soil. This latter division would still leave sufficient space 
 
[ 237 ] 74 
 
 for the State of Iowa, by extending it as far north as the St. Peter's. Now, 
 north of the two last-mentioned States might be formed another, embracing 
 all the remaining tributaries of the Mississippi on its west side, as well 
 as those of the Red river of the North, and as far north as to the British 
 possessions. 
 
 Thus it appears, that, by a judicious division of the remaining country 
 along the borders, taking in a small portion of the more barren region be- 
 yond it. there is sufficient space for five new States of large size, compact 
 in their forms, and having a good portion of fertile soil ; most of them 
 possessing convenient navigable streams, with a fair prospect of mineral 
 resources. 
 
 According to this division, the State of Iowa should be bounded by the 
 Mississippi on the east, by a parallel of latitude passing throusjh the mouth 
 of the Mtinkato or Blue Earth river, by a certain meridian line running 
 between the 17th and the I8th degrees of longitude on the west, and by 
 the northern boundary of the State of Missouri to the south. These limits 
 would embrace about forty to forty-two thousand square miles, with a pro- 
 portionable capacity to sustain a corresponding population. It would give 
 to the State a depot on the St. Peter's river, whilst the Des Moines and Iowa 
 rivers, running through its m.ore central southern parts, would make the 
 whole territory, excepting the small portion drained by the tributaiies of St. 
 Peter's river, assume the character of an extended valley, witli nearly all 
 its streams flowing in one general direction, to contribute their share to the 
 mighty Mississippi. As the population would be composed of emigrants 
 from all parts of the civilized world, by not extending the boundary so as 
 to estrange one portion of the people from the other, on account of a differ- 
 ence of origin, or a different course of trade, they would be brought to live 
 contentedly under the same laws and usages ; whilst the uniform direction 
 of the waters, together with the similarity of climate, soil, resources, and 
 avenues to market, are well calculated to give to the inhabitants of this State 
 a homogeneity of character and interest highly conducive to their well- 
 being, both morally and poHtically. 
 
75 [ 237 ] 
 
 SKETCH 
 
 or 
 
 THE EARLY HISTORY OF ST. LOUIS 
 
 [The ioUowing " sketch of tlie early hiistory of St. Louis '' was prepared by Mr. Nicollet as 
 a part of his report; bat as he died without assigning lo it the place he desired it to have in the * 
 report, it is here published immediately after Pan I.] 
 
 If I may be permitted to speak of the city of St. Louis as of an imperson- 
 ated existence, I would say that she was born French ; but, put under the 
 charge of a step-mother, her cradle was hung up in the forest, her infancy 
 stinted by its unavoidable privations, and her maturity retarded by the terror 
 of the Indian yell. Her youth was more calm, but still not prosperous ; for 
 the exercise of undue constraints in youth sickens and retards the develop- 
 ment of manhood. Abandoned subsequently by her Castilian guardians, 
 she found herself reclaimed by her old parent, only to be once more repu- 
 diated. She had then, however, attained her majority, and had herself be- 
 come a parent ; whose children, born under the asgis of Liberty, opened for 
 her a new destiny, and vowed that she should become the metropohs of a 
 new empire. 
 
 In 17(52, Mr. d'Abadie, then director general as well as civil and military 
 commander of Louisiana, granted to a company of merchants of New Or- 
 leans the exclusive privilege of the fur-trade with the Indian nations of the 
 Mississippi and Missouri rivers. This company bore the title of the firm of 
 Pierre Ligueste Laclede, Antoine Maxan, &- Co. Thus commissioned, the 
 company lost no time in fitting out an expedition, well supplied with all the 
 necessary articles for Indian trade, and which were to aid in forming new 
 and permanent establishments on both rivers. 
 
 Mr. L^clede, the principal projector of the company, and withal a man of 
 great intelligfience and enterprise, was placed in charge of the expedition. 
 Leaving New Orleans on the 3d of August, 1763, he arrived at St. Gene- 
 vieve three months afterwards — namely, op the 3d of November. 
 
 At this period the French colony, established sixty years before in the 
 Illinois, was in a prosperous condition. It had increased in importance 
 since the year 1732, at which time France was beginning to realize the 
 great idea, so long conceived, of uniting Canada to Louisiana by an exten- 
 sive line of military posts, to be supported by several principal forts, the 
 strategic positions of which were admirably selected. Fort Chartres, built 
 on the flat now known by the name of the America7i bottom, was one of 
 these main fortified places. But when Mr. Laclede arrived in the country, 
 Louis XV had already signed the everlastingly shameful treaty of peace, 
 by which was most inconsiderately ceded to Great Britain one of the finest 
 regions on the habitable globe, the possession of which had been obtained 
 after nearly a century of efforts and discoveries, and at the sacrifice of much 
 blood and money. This region of country, embracing what are now the 
 two Canadas, the immense watery expanse of the northern lakes, and the 
 
I 237 ] 76 
 
 rich domains of Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and of East 
 Louisiana, to the gulf of Mexico, passed under the dominion of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 The Mississippi river thus became the natural Hmit between the French 
 and British possessions, with its navigation declared free to the two nations. 
 At this time, the French establishments were on the east side of the Missis- 
 sippi, particularly those mnde in Illinois. The small village of St. Gene- 
 vieve alone was on the right side, in which Mr. Laclede could scarcelj' find 
 a house of sufficient size to store a fourth part of his cargo. On the other 
 hand, the director general of Louisiana had received orders to deliver up 
 the territory on tlie left side of the river ; so that the British authorities 
 might be expected at any moment, presenting themselves to take possession 
 of it. In the midst of these difficulties, Mr. Laclede, greatly embarrassed 
 under the new aspect of thinsfs, found himself, however, relieved when the 
 commanding officer, Mr. Neyon de Villiers, allowed him the use of the 
 stores at Fort Chartres, until the final surrender of ihe place. Laclede 
 gladly accepted the offer, and lost no time in apportioning his squad and 
 distributing his flotilla along the rivers, so as to render them most effective 
 either for defence or for trade. 
 
 Having accomplished that preliminary arrangement, it became necessary 
 to look out for the position of a central establishment. The lefi bank of the 
 river no longer presented any fit situation, since the whole territory of Illi- 
 nois had been passed over to the British government; the village of St. 
 Genevieve, on the right bank, being his only alternative, and this situated 
 at too great a distance from the mouth of the Missouri. Mr. Laclede, thtre- 
 fore, left Fort Chartres, on a voyage of exploration to the junction of this 
 river with the Mississippi, and was not long before he discovered that the 
 bluff upon which St. Louis now stands was the spot that would best answer 
 the purposes of the company. 
 
 Deferring, for the present, a more particular account of the geological 
 situation of St. Louis, it may be remarked in this place that the hill upon 
 which the city is situated is composed of limestone rocks, covered by a deep 
 deposite of alluvial soil of great fertility. The limestone bluff rises to an 
 elevation of about 80 feet over the usual recession of the waters of the Mis- 
 sissippi, and is crowned by an upland, or plateau, extending to the north and 
 west, and presenting scarcely any limit to the foundation of a city entirely 
 secure from the invasions of the river. At the lime referred to, this plateau 
 presented the aspect of a beautiful prairie, but already giving the promise of 
 a renewed luxuriant vegetation, in consequence of the dispersion of the 
 larger animals of chase, and the annual fires being kept out of the country, 
 since the arrival of the whites on the Illinois side. At present, this new 
 growth is again doomed to destruction ; but the process is carried on with 
 more discernment, and for a more praiseworthy object; it is for the exten- 
 sion of the city, for the erection of manufactories, for clearing arable lands — 
 in short, for all the purposes of a progressive state of civilization. 
 
 Still, to be more particular in the description of this location, the slope 
 of the hills on the river-side was covered by a growth of heavy timber, 
 overshadowing an almost evergreen sward, free from undergrowth, and 
 which terminated gently in a point on the very margin of the river, at a 
 place corresponding to the spot where the old market house now stands. 
 The Mississippi was very deep, but a great deal narrower than it is now, 
 
77 [ 237 1 
 
 as it is stated by the old inhabitants that persons could converse with each 
 other across it without effort. It was on this S|)ot that the prescient mind 
 -rvf Mr. Laclede foresaw and predicted the future importance of the town 
 to which he gave the name of St. Louis, and about which he discoursed, 
 fc (ew days afterward, with so much enthusiasm, in presence of the officers 
 at Fort Chartres. But winter had now set in, (December,) and the Mis- 
 sissippi was about to be closed by ice. Mr. Laclede could do no more than 
 cut down some trees, and blaze others, to indicate the place which he had 
 selected. Returning afterward to the fort, where he spent the winter, he 
 occupied himself in making every preparation for the establishment of 
 the new colony. 
 
 Accordingly, at the breaking up of winter, he equipped a large boat, 
 which he manned with thirty hands. It is proper to mention, in this 
 place, that Mr. Laclede was accompanied by two young Creoles of New 
 Orleans, Auguste and Pierre Chouteau, of high inteUigence, in whom he 
 reposed the greatest confidence, and from whom he derived much assistance. 
 These two young men, who never afterwards quitted the country of their 
 adoption, became, in time, the heads of numerous families ; enjoying the 
 highest respectability, the comforts of an honorably acquired afiluence, 
 the fruit of their own industry, and possessed of a name which to this day, 
 after a lapse of seventy years, is still a passport that commands safety and 
 hospilahty among all the Indian nations of the United States north and 
 west. Mr. Laclede gave the command of his boat to Auguste, the elder of 
 the two brothers, who died in 182t) ; and it is with mixed feelings of ven- 
 eration and filial affection that, at the moment of recording these events, 
 (1842,)I have the satisfaction of believing that my respectable and esteemed 
 friend, Pierre Chouteau, is still alive, in the full enjoyment of his faculties, 
 at the ripe old age of 86 years. 
 
 Auguste Chouteau, who had accompanied Mr. Laclede in his first ex- 
 cursion, was directed to carry out his plans ; and on the 15th of February, 
 1764, had arrived at his point of destination, with all his men, whom he 
 immediately set to work. The present old market-place of St. Louis is the 
 spot where the first tents and log-cabins were pitched, upon the site of this 
 now important city of the west. Mr. Laclede being detained at Fort 
 Chartres in the settlement of his private affairs, and in anticipation of the 
 arrival of the British troops, thought it necessary, however, to pay a visit 
 early in the ensuing month of April to his pioneers: and, finding every- 
 thing in good train, contented himself with leaving such instructions as 
 were best fitted to develop the resources of the location, and returned to 
 Fort Chartres, with the intention of removing thence the goods belonging 
 to the company. 
 
 I feel loth to describe here the dreadful effect produced upon the French 
 colony of Illinois by the treaty of peace of 1763, referred to above ; yet it 
 seems to have caused still more dissatisfaction among the Indian tribes of 
 the north, who for a long time refused to abide by it. In truth, the colony 
 expired of a natural death. Several of the poorer inhabitants of the vil- 
 lages of Fort Chartres, Kaskaskia, Cahokia,and Vincennes on the Wabash, 
 yielded to the new domination ; whilst others preferred to follow up the 
 fortunes of Mr. de Neyon, and accompany him to New Orleans. Others, 
 again, crossed the Mississippi, adding their strength to the nascent colony 
 of St. Louis, 
 
 But, on the lOih of October of the sama year, (1764,) aa incident oc- 
 
[ 237 ] ^ 78 
 
 curred, which threw the colony into great alarm. The remnants of the 
 Missouri tribe of Indians, who occupied an extensive prairie upon the left 
 bank of the river of the same name, suddenly made their appearance before 
 St. Louis, numbering in all more than four hiuidred individusils, men, 
 women, and children, and counting over one hundred warriors. Although 
 they did not present themselves in hostile array, still they became trouble- 
 some by their importunate demands for provisions, and their more vexatious 
 pilferings. Unable to foresee what would be the result of this unexpected 
 visit, the colonists of Illinois, who, abandoning the British dominion, had 
 flocked to join those of St. Louis, took the alarm, and recrossed the Missis- 
 sippi. Auguste Chouteau thus found himself reduced to his original com- 
 pany of thirty to thirty-five men, from whom he despatched a messenger 
 to Mr. Laclede, who was still tarrying at Fort Chartres. Laclede arrived ; 
 and the result of his negotiation with the Indians proves that he had a 
 great knowledge of the Indian character, and possessed much tact in man- 
 aging it. 
 
 The chiefs, having appeared before him, addressed him in these terms : 
 " We are worthy of pity ; for we are like the ducks and geese, seeking 
 some clear water upon which to rest themselves, and to obtain an easy 
 existence. We know of no better place than where we are. We mean to 
 build our wigwams around your village. We shall be your children, and 
 you will be our father." Laclede here closed the talk, promising them a 
 reply at a meeting to take place the next day ; on which occasion he ad- 
 dressed them thus: " You told me yesterday that you were like the ducks 
 and geese, who go on travelling unul they find a fine country'-, where they 
 can rest themselves and obtain an easy living. You told me that you were 
 worthy of pity ; that you were looking out for a spot to settle upon, and 
 had not found one more suitable than this; that you would build your vil- 
 lage around me ; that we should live all together like friends. 1 wish to 
 answer you like a good father ; and I must say that, if you imitate the 
 ducks and geese, you follow guides that have no forethought ; for if they 
 had any, they would not settle on clear water, where they can be seen by 
 the eagle, who would catch them. This would not be the case were they 
 to select a retired spot, well shaded by trees. You, Missourias, you would 
 not be devoured by birds of prey, but by the red men wlio have been so 
 long warring against you, and have already so much reduced your num- 
 bers. They are at this moment not far from here, watching the English, 
 to prevent them from taking possession of their grounds. If they discover 
 that you are here, they will kill your warriors, and will make slaves of your 
 wives and children. This is what will happen to you, if, as you say, you 
 mean to follow the exajnple of ducks and geese, instead of listening to the 
 counsels of men who reflect. You, chiefs and warriors, think now whether 
 it is not more prudent that you leave here quickly, rather than be crushed 
 by the superior number of your enemies, in sight of your butchered old 
 men, and your women and child rea torn to pieces, and their limbs scatter- 
 ed to the dogs and vultures. Recollect that it is a good father who speaks 
 to you. Meditate well what he has said, and come back to-night with 
 your answer." 
 
 Accordingly, towards evening, the whole nation, in mass, presented 
 itself, announcing that it had determined to follow his advice ; yet, as 
 customary, asked him to take pity upon their women and children, so- 
 
79 [ 237 ] 
 
 liciting provisions for them, and powder and shot for the warriors. Mr. 
 Laclede acceded liberally to their prayer ; and the day following the next, 
 the unfortunate remnants of the Missouri nation ascended the river of 
 their fathers, and returned to their village. 
 
 All anxieties being now dissipated, the colonists of Illinois, recovered 
 from their alarm, relumed to add numbers to the new colony. Lands 
 were allotted to them, which they set about tilling, and upon which they 
 built their cabins. 
 
 There being, so far, no indications of the arrival of the British, Mr. 
 Laclede had deferred the translation of his establishment from Fort Char- 
 tres to St. Louis. He, in consequence, returned to the fort, as much for the 
 sake of superintending his commercial affairs, as with the expectation of 
 increasing the number of inhabitants for his new colony, in this expecta- 
 tion he hiid been encouraged by circumstances that had occurred during 
 the summer, in consequence of the treaty. 
 
 It may be proper to state here, that when Mr. Neyon de Villiers re- 
 ceived orders to evacuate the possession of the left bank of the Missis- 
 sippi, he had under his command the troops at Fort Peoria, on the Illinois 
 river ; those of Fort Marsiac, (not Massac, nor Massacre,) on the Ohio ; 
 and those stationed at the post of Vincennes, on the Wabash ; although the 
 last were under the more immediate command of Mr. St. Ange de Belle- 
 rive. It would seem that, at this time, there were no garrisons at Kaskas- 
 kia, Cahokia, and the Prairie du Rocher ; these three villages being sup- 
 posed sufficiently protected by Fort Chartres. Mr. de Ncyon ordered all 
 these posts to be evacuated, with the view of concentrating their garrisons 
 about himself There was, besides, a fort situated on the Kansas river, 
 about 4UU miles above the mouth of the Missouri ; and another had been 
 commenced on the Osage river, near the old village of the same name. 
 These two positions were not included in the treaty, as being situated on 
 the west side of the Mississippi ; nevertheless, orders were also sent to their 
 garrisons to come down to Fort Chartres. All things being thus disposed 
 of, Mr. de Neyon lefc Mr. St. Ange de Bellerive, one captam, two lieuten- 
 ants, and 40 men, to guard the fort until the time of its snrresder. On the 
 lOth of July, 17G4, he descended the Mississippi with his own troops, some 
 civil officers, and a large number of the inhabitants of the village of 
 Fort Chartres and of the Prairie du Rocher. These people had been 
 prevailed upon to follow Mr. de Neyon by a promise to obtain for them, at 
 New Orleans, a grant of lands in Lower Louisiana, where they would be 
 under a more iuimediate French government, and at a distance from their 
 enemies, the English, who were termed by them " the heretics," &c. This 
 national feeling was perhaps laudable, and he, no doubt, would have been 
 welcomed at New Orleans ; but it so happened that, upon the arrival of the 
 convoy, a sad and fatal rumor was circulated, that the rest of both Upper 
 and Lower Louisiana, west of the Mississippi, was about to be transferred 
 to the Spanish government. Besides, the local French government inter- 
 ested itself very little about Mr. de Neyon, and those unfortunate families 
 who had abandoned their homes and valuable lands under a delusive ex- 
 pectation of bettering their condition. After remaining a long time unset- 
 tled at New Orleans, their means nearly exhausted, some retired to the 
 Opelousas and the Attakapas, whilst others reascended the Mississippi, on 
 their return to Illinois and St. Louis. Then it was that Mr. de Neyon 
 was censured. It was pretended that he had been actuated by motives 
 
[ 237 ] 80 
 
 of ambition, and the desire of giving himself importance on his arrival 
 at New Orleans, by exhibiting in the persons of his deluded followers 
 the deep regret which his departure had occasioned in the bosoms of 
 the inhabitants of Illinois, in the hope of thereby rising to some elevated 
 funciion. 
 
 This appears to have been the opinion of Mr. Laclede, who had always 
 endeavored to retain these flmiilies. by the offer of certain and immediate 
 advantages, as a set off against promises, the fulfilment of which de- 
 pended upon a thousand contingencies. On this subject he explained 
 himself to Mr. de Neyon in no measured terms. But the influence of the 
 latter prevailed. This did not prevent the high-minded Mr. Laclede from 
 acting as the friend and benefactor of those whom misfortunes drove back 
 to seek his protection. He distributed among them lands and provisions, 
 aided them with laborers, and furnished them the m.eans of transporting, 
 by land and by water, whatever they had preserved, or had previously 
 abandoned in their first removal. Thus the colony of St. Louis received 
 the accession of all those that emigrated from the left side of the Missis- 
 sippi. The village of Fort Chartres was completely deserted, there re- 
 maining only the small garrison of the fort. The inhabitants destroyed 
 their houses; not, however, in a feeling of spite, but to avail themselves 
 of whatever could be transported and appropriated to their new establish- 
 ments. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the second year after the signature of the treaty of 
 peace had elapsed, and the British had not yet been able to take possession 
 of Illinois. This v/as owing to the opposition made by several Indian 
 tribes, who, as alluded to above, had refused to abide by the treaty, and 
 were waging a most cruel war against the British, These tribes had form- 
 ed a confederacy, under the command of Pontiac, a bold warrior, who had 
 already become celebrated for his prowess, and his devoted attachment to 
 France during the whole of ihe war which the latter had carried on against 
 Great Britain, in America, The confederated Indian army was composed 
 of Hurons, Miamis, Chippeways, Ottowas, Pottawatomies, Missourias, &C,, 
 &c. The name of Pontiac was the terror of the whole region of the lakes ; 
 and, by his bands, he effectually interrupted the British intercourse with 
 the rest of the nations that had remained friendly to that government. The 
 taking of Fort Michilimackinac, the attempt at Detroit, and the attack upon 
 the schooner Gladwin, on lake Michigan, are memorable events, evincing 
 a spirit of cunning and daring highly characteristic of the genius of the 
 red man. 
 
 In the winter of 1764-65, Pontiac, whilst engaged in his acts of 
 depredation, learned that an armed British force was about to start from 
 New Orleans, to take possession of the left bank of the Mississippi. He 
 immediately proceeded to the neighborhood of Fort Chartres, accompa- 
 nied by 400 warriors, to oppose this occupation of the country, and, find- 
 ing there some Illinois Indians, who had placed themselves under the 
 protection of the French garrison, he proposed to them to join him. But 
 these people, disheartened by recent calamities, and, as it were, foredoomed 
 to a final extinction, were unwilling to assume a hostile attitude towards 
 their new rulers, from whom interest, if not generosity, would lead them 
 to expect the same protection which they were then receiving. To this 
 refusal Pontiac replied, with characteristic energy: "Hesitate not, or I 
 destroy you with the same rapidity that fire destroys the grass of the 
 
81 [ 237 ] 
 
 prairie. Listen, and recollect that these are Pontiac's words." Having 
 then despatched scouts upon the Mississippi and the Ohio, he hastened 
 with some of his warriors to Fort Chartres, where he addres?ed Mr. St. 
 Ange de Bellerive in the following terms: 
 
 '• Father, we have long wished to see thee, to shake hands with thee, 
 find, whilst smoking the calumet of peace, to recall the battles in which 
 we fought together against the misguided Indians and the Enalish dogs. 
 I love the French, and I have come iiere with my warriors to avenge their 
 wrongs," (fcc, &.c. Mr. de St. Ange was a Canadian officpr of great bra- 
 verj', and too much honor to be seduced by this language. Besides, he 
 knew too well the Indian character, to lose sight of tlie fact that the love 
 of plunder was probably, at bottom, a stronger inducement for Pontiac 
 than his love for the French. This visit, which was terminated by an 
 exchange of civilities, might, nevertheless, have brought difliculiies upon 
 the small garrison of Fort Chartres. But news arrived that the Indians of 
 Lower Louisiana had attacked the British expedition, some miles below 
 Natcliez, and repulsed it. Ponliac became then less active in guarding the 
 rivers; and, as he believed that the occupation of the country had been 
 retarded again, he and his party were about to retire altogether. During 
 the time, however, that the news took to arrive, the British had succeeded 
 in getting up another expedition, on the Ohio; and Captain Stirling, at 
 the head of a company of Scots, arrived unexpectedly iti the summer of 
 1765; taking possession of the fort before the Indians had time to offer any 
 resistance. At this news, Pontiac raved ; swearing that, before he left the 
 country, he would retake the fort, and bear away Captain Stirling's scalp. 
 But the intervention of Mr. St. Ange and iNlr. I^aclede put an end to these 
 savage threats. Pontiac returned to the north, made peace with the Brit- 
 ish, from whom he received a pension, and seemed to have biiried all ani- 
 mosity against them. But, by his restless spirit, he soon aroused new sus- 
 picions; and we are informed by Captain Jonathan Carver, that Pontiac 
 haviug gone, in the year 1707, to hold a council in the Illinois country, an 
 Indian, who was either commissioned by one of the English governors, or 
 instigated by the love he bore the English nation, attended him as a spy; 
 and being convinced, from the speech Pontiac made in the council, that he 
 still retained his former prejudice against those for whom he now professed 
 friendship, he plunged his knife into his heart as soon as he had done 
 speaking, and laid him dead on the spot. 
 
 Captain Carver travelled throuoh the northern region, but never was 
 south of the Prairie du Chien; so that his information is probably incor- 
 rect. The celebrity of Pontiac, as well as the distinguished part he took 
 in the Indian wars of the west, will justify me, therefore, for introducing 
 here a somewhat different statement of the manner of his death, as I have 
 it from two of the most respectable living authorities of the day — Colonel 
 Pierre Chouteau, of St. Louis, and Colonel Pierre Menard, of Kaskaskia. 
 It is as follows : Pontiac's last residence was in St. Louis. One day he 
 came to Mr. de St. Ange, and told him that he was going to pay a visit to 
 the Kaskaskia Indians. Mr. de St. Ange endeavored to dissuade him from 
 it, reminding him of the little friendship that existed between him and the 
 British. Pontiac's answer was : " Captain, I am a man ! I know how to 
 fight. I have always fought openly. They will not murder me ; and if 
 any one attacks me as a brave man, I am his match." He went otf ; was 
 6 
 
[237 
 
 82 
 
 feasted; got drunk ; and retired into ihe wood, to sing his medicine songs. 
 In the mean while, an EngUsh merchant, named Williamson, bribed a 
 Kaskaskia Indian with a barrel of rum, and the promise of a greater re- 
 ward it' he could succeed in killing Pontiac. He was struck with a paka- 
 raagon, (tomahawk,) and his skull fractured, which caused hisdeath. This 
 murder, which roused the vengeance of nil the Indian tribes friendly to 
 Pontiac, brought about the successive wars and fdmost total extermination 
 of the Illinois nation. 
 
 Pontiac was a remarkably well-looking man ; nice in his person, and full 
 of taste in his dress, and in the arrangement of his exterior ornaments. 
 His complexion is said to have approached that of the whites. His origin 
 is still uncertain ; for some have supposed him to belong to the tribe of Ot- 
 towas, others to the Miamis. &c. ; but Col. P. Chouteau, senior, who knew 
 him well, is of opinion ib.at he was a Nipissing. 
 
 At last, on the 17th of July, 176.5, Mr, do. St. Ange de Bellerive sur- 
 rendered the country, and passed over to St. Louis, with his troops and 
 the civil officers. This arrival was a favorable event for the organization 
 of the colony. St. Louis became the capital of Upper Louisiana, under 
 the command of Mr. de St. Ange, who had charge of the execution of 
 iho laws and ordinances by which the French possessions were gov- 
 erned. 
 
 But Louis XV", in 1763, had entered into another treaty, by which he 
 ceded to Spain the rest of his possessions in North America. This treaty, 
 which filled the measure of French losses and humiliations, had been kept 
 secret for a year. The official news of it was only receivea at New Or- 
 leans on the 21st of April, 1764, and rumors of it soon reached Upper 
 Louisiana. Such was the consternation v/ith which it was received by 
 the whole French population, that the grief it occasioned to Governor 
 D'Abadie became the cause of his death, and Aubri, his successor, liad to 
 announce the cession to the people. The serious troubles which, in conse- 
 quence of this cession, were brought on at New Orleans under the Spanish 
 captain general, Don Antonio d'Ulloa, and the tragic events which follo>ved 
 under his successor, the blood-thirsty General Oreiley, kept the administra- 
 tion of Upper Louisiana in the hands of the French for several years. It 
 was not until the llth of August, 1768, that Spanish troops could take a 
 first possession of St. Louis. But, eleven months afterwards, in conse- 
 quence of the events alluded to, the same troops had been compelled to 
 evacuate the country. At last, quiet being restured in Lov/er Louisiana, 
 the Spaniards, in 1770, returned and took definitive possession of St. Louis. 
 Mr. de St. Ange was then an old man. He decided upon remaining in St. 
 Louis, where he died in 1775, at the age of 76. He had long commanded 
 the post of Vincennes, on the Wabash, before he was called to take charge 
 of Fort Chartres; and, being highly respected and beloved by the inhabit- 
 ants, his death was deeply regretted. 
 
 When Mr. Laclede arrived in the country, there were no Indians on 
 the spot where St. Louis now stands, nor in the whole region between 
 the Mississippi and what is now the southern part of the State of Mis- 
 souri. The Illinois Indians never crossed the river; so that the newcolo- 
 nists were never visited but by the Missouri and Osage Indians, and al- 
 ways as friends. The Missourias had become familiar, and had got the 
 habit of spending their summers with the French. They came down 
 
83 [ 237 ] 
 
 in their canoes, bringing ;ilon^ witli them their wigwams, and located 
 themselves near St. Louis ; their women aiding the colonists in their rural 
 occupations, and in building their houses. The Osages visitod the place 
 three or four times a year, but not in a body. After a while, all the other 
 northeastern nations adopted the same custom ; and even the Sacs and 
 Foxes, after the destruction of the Illitiois nation, having driven away the 
 Peorias, who were the last remnants of this nation, came in to trade away 
 tiieir maple sugar, their pecans, &c. 
 
 The Peorias, after having been expelled from their village on the Illinois 
 river, took refuge at Ivaskaskia. Afterwards, they fled below St. Louis, 
 on the spot where the arsenal is now located ; and, the British no longer 
 occupying Fort Chartres, although the country still belonged to them, they 
 again took refuge there, and under tlie American government ; their huntincr- 
 grounds were in the vicinity of St. Genevieve. It was, however, on the 
 prairies of Kaskaskia that they were finally destroyed by their enemies, 
 and by the use of ardent spirits. The last attack upon them by the Sacs 
 and Foxes, and other allied tribes, must have taken place between 1800 and 
 1S04. 
 
 Had St. Louis been destined to remain a village, her history mifi^ht have 
 been despatched in a few lines. But future generations will inquire of us 
 all that concerns the origin of the " River Q,ueen," the destined queen of 
 the western empire. Having so far sketched its early history, it becomes 
 necessary to record the principal events connected with the city and its 
 vicinity. 
 
 In 1767, a man by the name of Delor Detergette settled upon a splen- 
 did amphitheatre on the rijiht bank of the Mississippi, six miles south of 
 St. Louis. He was soon followed by others; but, as ihey were not over- 
 burdened with v/ealth, they used to pay frequent visits to their kinsfolk of 
 St. Louis, who, on seeing them approach, would exclaim, " Here come the 
 empty pockets,"' — " voila les poches videsqui viennent.''^ But, on some oc- 
 casion, a wag remarked, " You had better call them emptiers of pocketSy" 
 — les vide-poches; a compliment wliich was retaliated by these upon the 
 place of St. Louis, which was subject to frequent seasons of want, by styling 
 it Paiacourt — short of bread. The village, being still nameless, retained 
 the appellation of Vide-poche until 1776, when it was changed into that of 
 Carondelet. 
 
 In 17o9, settlements were made on both shores of the lower portion of 
 the Missouri river. Blanchette, surnamed '-the hunter," built his log- 
 house on the hills called les Petites Cotes; being the first dwellinof of the 
 beautiful village that, in 17S4, received the name of St. Charles. 
 
 Fraufois Borosier Dunegan commenced the viWa^eoi Florissan/; which 
 name it still popularly retains, although more lately called by the Spaniards 
 St. Ferdinand. 
 
 About the same time, Francois Saucier originated the establishment of 
 the Portage des iSioux, on the bank of the Mississippi, seven miles above 
 the mouth of the Missouri. 
 
 In 1778, on the 20th of June, Pierre Ligueste Laclede, the founder of 
 St. Louis, died in the village called the Posie des Arkansas, on Arkansas 
 river. Mr. Laclede had continued to reside in St. Louis. His house, 
 situated in what is now Main street, between Market and Walnut streets, 
 and opposite the old market, became, after his death, the property of rhe 
 late Col. A. Chouteau, who enlarged it, adorned the premises with a kne 
 
[ 237 ] 84 
 
 trarden, and created that splendid mansion lately admired by strangers, 
 as well as by the inhabitants of the city. It was pulled down in the 
 month of October, 1841 ; and might be regretted, did it not m;»ke room 
 for more modern buildings, better suited to the commercial extension of 
 the place. Laclede still continued to deal in furs, which tnifTic obliged 
 him to make I'reqiient voyages to New Orleans. It was during one of 
 these voyages, whilst ascending the Mississippi, that he became so ill as 
 to be stopped at the Post of Arkansas, where he died at the age of 54. 
 He had never been njarried ; and not having had time to realize the for- 
 tune which his enterprise and intelligence could not have liiiltd to se- 
 cure to him, his property was sold alter his death, in liqiiidation of his 
 affairs. 
 
 In 1780, on the 6th of May, as 1 discover by the papers of the late 
 Col. Auguste Chouteau, intrusted to me by the family, (though some 
 writers assign the year 1778,) St. Louis was attacked by a party of Indians 
 and British, who had been ordered to take possession of the town on the 
 west side of the Mississippi, in consequence of the part v^^hich Spain had 
 taken in favor of the independence of the United Statrs. The French, 
 who had preserved a good understanding with all the Indian nations, very 
 little expected this blow, and were not prepared to resist it. The garrison 
 consisted of only 50 to 60 men, commanded by a certain Captain Lebas, 
 (a Spaniard, and not a Frenchman, as his name niightlead one to suppose.) 
 But, whatsoever his origin, he deserves nothing but public contenjpt. This 
 Lebas, during the first tliree years that the Spaniards occupied the country, 
 had commanded a small fort somewhere towards the mouth of the Missouri — 
 perhaps at Bdle Fontaine — and afterwards received the command of St. 
 Louis, as a successor to Cruzat, who himself had succeeded Piernaz. The 
 only means of defence for the place, at that lime, was a stone tower erected 
 near the village on the bank of the Mississippi, and some weak palisades. 
 There were not more than 150 males in the place, of whom not more than 
 70 could be relied upon as efficient to repel an enemy numbering, accord- 
 ing to the best authorities, 900 combatants ; though, by some, their number 
 is represented to have been from 1,400 to 1,500. It would have been use- 
 less to propose a capitulation, the conditions of which the Indians, (as has 
 been unfortunately too often experienced.) either from ignorance or treach- 
 ery, never fulfil ; and the inhabitants knew too well the character of 
 those with whom they had to deal, to expect salvation in anything but a 
 courageous resistance. The women and children, who could not take 
 part m the defence, took shelter in the house of Auguste Chouteau ; 
 whilst all those, both men and women, who were within the palisades, 
 commenced so vigorous a resistance, that the enemy was forced to retreat. 
 But these, with characteristic ferocity, threw themselves upon those of the 
 inhabitants who, engaged in the cultivation of their fields, had not had 
 time to reach the palisades ; and it is said that 60 were killed, and 13 made 
 prisoners. 
 
 It is averred that the Spanish garrison took no part in this gallant de- 
 fence. Lebas and his men had betaken themselves to the stone tower ; 
 and it is further stated, that, as the tower threatened to give way after 
 the first fire from it, he ordered the firing to be stopped ; and that he died 
 on receiving information that the Sacs, Foxes, and Iowa Indians were 
 massacring the people on the plains. The year this attack took place. 
 
85 [ 2.n ] 
 
 is called by the French VAnnee da Grand Coup— the year of the great 
 blow. 
 
 Historical accuracy demands a denial here of the assertion of some au- 
 thors, who ascribe to American troops an active part in this defence. Un- 
 fortunately, there were no United States troops on ihe bank of tfie Mississippi 
 opposite to St. Louis, as none were needed, there being nothing to guard or 
 to defend. It is well known that General George R. Clark, with liis men, 
 then occupied the important post of Kaskaskia, which is more than 56 
 miles SE. of St. Louis; and that, consequently, this gallant officer could 
 not have had time, even if it fell within his lino of duty, to aid in an 
 affair that concerned the Spaniards and the British, which v/as planned as 
 a surprise, and lasted but a few hours. 
 
 It was probably on this occasion, or perhaps on a similar one, that took 
 place in the summer of 1811, as tradition informs ns, that, after the battle, 
 the Indians being reproached by the French that their women had been 
 indiscriminately murdered by them, replied : '• But why did they not wear 
 their blue kerchiefs about their heads, as they used' to do formerly? we 
 would have recognised and spared ihem." 
 
 After the event narrated above, the inhabitants of St. Louis, finding that 
 their garrison were unworthy of trust, without ammunition, and without 
 means of defence against a regularly-organized attack, deputed Mr. Auguste 
 Chouteau to proceed to New Orleans for assistance. Cruzat was again 
 made commander of St. Louis, the affairs of which place he administered 
 with mildness and public satisfaction. A wooden fort was built on the 
 most elevated spot within the city, upon which were mounted several heavy 
 pieces of ordnance; and still later there were added four stone turrets, from 
 which crossfires could be kept up. This might have answered for the 
 protection of the city, but only against the Indians. No traces of this for- 
 tification are now to be seen — the very site of which has yielded to the im- 
 provements of the city. 
 
 It may be well to remark, in this place, that this event proves the policy 
 that has prevailed in Canada and Louisiana, in granting lands to the 
 colonists, whereby they were commanded not to scatter themselves, but to 
 concentrate into villages, under the protection of the f irts ; thus combining 
 for mutual labor as well as mutual defence. Hence the government ceded 
 tracts of lands for a whole community, on condition that they should be 
 worked in a body. There was first a field assigned, the extent of which 
 was proportioned to the number of families in the village. To each f im- 
 ily was allotted a certain portion for cultivation, and all contributed to its 
 general enclosure. Another tract was laid out for the pasturage of the 
 stock, and a third in wood land. These concessions were called co/n/«o« 
 lands, or simply commons. There were yet, a few years ago, such com- 
 mons in the neighborhood of St. Louis, Carondelet, St. Genevieve, Kaskas- 
 kia, and near almost all the French villages in Missouri and Illinois. 
 
 1785. — This year is called VAnnee des Grandes Eaux—\he year of tlie 
 great flood. In the month of April, the waters of the Mississippi rose 
 15 or 2U feet above the highest mark they had ever been known to reach 
 at St. Louis, and at some narrow parts of the river as high as 30 feet. The 
 whole region of country drained by the Mississippi to its mouths, presented, 
 the aspect of an immense sheet of water studded with islands. The villages 
 of St. Genevieve, Fort Charlres, Kaskaskia, St. Philippe, Cahokia, etc., 
 
[ 237 ] 86 
 
 were totally submerged : and the inhabitants, who had fled to the hills that 
 overlook the rich bottom, interchanged visits by water from the rocky bluffs 
 of the right side of the river to the hills that border the Kaskaskia. The 
 Tillage of St. Genevieve was then situated on a low prairie, that has since 
 been entirely washed away ; and tradition has it, that Mr. Augnste Chou- 
 teau, on his way back from New Orleans, moored his boat, and breakfiisted 
 with his men, on the roof of the most elevated house. 
 
 ]n 17c-8, the traders between St. Louis and New Orleans having been 
 frequently attacked and plundered of their merchandise, on their return, by 
 the band of Mississippi pirate:^ headed by Culbert and Magilbray. who 
 used to lay in wait for them at the month of the riviere aiix Liards, {Cot- 
 tonwood creek.) the governor of Ps'ew Orleans took measures against them, 
 and ordered the equipment of an armed convoy of ten boats, which suc- 
 ceeded in breaking up the haunt of the pirates, and returned in triumph to 
 St. Lotus. This year is called VAeime des Dix Bateaux — the year of the 
 ten boats. 
 
 In 1797, several Spanish galleys, of 40 oars, ascended the river to St. 
 Louis, vvitli troops imder the command of Colonel Don Carlos Howard. 
 
 17U9 to ISrO. — Winter of very intense cold, but no actual observations 
 of temperature recorded.* 
 
 In 1801 the small-pox (called by the Creoles j»ico/e) made its appearance, 
 for the first lime, in the country of Illinois and Missouri. The disease was 
 unknown in the country on the 15th of April of this year. 
 
 By referring to the dates above, it will be seen that Upper Louisiana was 
 for nearly thirty two years under the dominion of Spain, and that France 
 had scarcely the time to be aware of the foundation of St. Louis. The 
 colony was ruled by a military government ; that is to say, by the arbitrary 
 will of commanders, uniting all authority in themselves, without any guar- 
 antee of personal rights — scarcely ihat of petitioning. 
 
 Spain never seems to have sought to take advantage of tlie resources 
 of Upper Louisiana. It would appear that she looked upon this vast 
 region simply as a barrier against the encroachment of neighbors upon 
 her supposed more valuable Mexican possession — a policy which alone 
 explains the indifference which she manifested in the government of the 
 country for so many years. Yet a nation becomes great by its genius ; 
 and the part which Spain has played in the history of nations does not 
 allow the suspicion that she was ignorant of these resources. When 
 she took possession of the entire country west of the Mississippi, she 
 found a French population already acclimated, civilized, and brought up 
 in hardships endured during its prolonged wars with llie British and 
 Indians, and accustomed to snfft^rings and to privations. The prospects 
 of a more tranquil and easy existence had assembled these people on the 
 Arkansas, the Mississippi, and the Missouri rivers, where they awaited 
 only a protecting government that would permit them in security to de- 
 velop their industry, and to take advantage of the peace then enjoyed 
 by the whole western region. All that Spain had to do was to open 
 markets for their produce, and they would have supplied her with those 
 provisions which she was obliged to ask of strangers for the nourishment 
 
 ^ This was the second winter of ihe sort experienced at St. Louis. During the former one, 
 in n6H, ihecold had been so intense as to destroy the orange trees in Lower Louisiana, and 
 the banks of the Mississippi were covered with ice. 
 
87 [ 237 ] 
 
 of her southern colonies. By encouraging the cultivation of lands, 
 naturally of easy tillaf^e, varied in their character, fertile, and, in some 
 lespects, exhauslless, ihe population would have increased ; the arts of 
 civilization would have found their way among the people, who would 
 have gradually been led to entertain a filial regard for iheir new parents ; 
 and Uuis wouid have arisen to the north of Mexico an empire whose en- 
 lightened strength would constitute the best of barriers. This vast 
 empire, possessing the grandest natural limits on the earth — bounded by 
 the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Pacific ocean — might, by its im- 
 mense preponderance, have changed the course of those great events 
 that have taken place on the new continent since that period. France 
 could not have aimed at such a power, so loni,^ as she was in possession 
 of Canadu; but she ouglit to have thought of it the day when she sur- 
 rendered ihat great colony. The mighty results obtained by the free in- 
 stitutions of the United States of America demonstrate, at this day, that 
 the loss of Canada might have been turned to advantage by France ; and 
 Ihaf, by fostering the possessions which she still held on the west of the 
 Mississippi, she would have soon been amply repaid for the sacrifices 
 she was compelled to make in 1763, since the colony, which remained to 
 her, had still three times the extent of her own kingdom. Such was the 
 opinion of enlightened men in France. The celebrated statesman Turgot 
 more especially foresaw the advantages of such a policy, and submitted 
 to the King a plan by which this vast region (called by him Equinoxial 
 -France) might be largely peopled in a short time. But he was treated as 
 a visionary. 
 
 This great scheme of policy, which would have been easy for France 
 to pursue, acquired importance in its adoption, and was of still more 
 natural execution by Spain. But, instead of eagerly seizing upon it, she 
 is contented to encircle the settlers between the Mississippi, the Missouri, 
 and the Indians; imposes upon them arbitrary government; throws 
 obstacles in the way of a free communication with the neighboring people ; 
 establishes restrictions upon imports, prohibits foreign competiaon, and 
 stops the tide of emigration, by requiring of those who present themselves, 
 offering their industry and talents, a certificate that they belong to the 
 Koman Catholic religion, Spain adopts also the impolicy of granting ex- 
 clusive favors and privileges; makes grants of land without discrimination, 
 often unconditionally; and when conditions are annexed, the grantee is 
 unable to fulfil them, for want of proper encouragement, and from the un- 
 certainty of finding a market for the products of his labor. No wonder she 
 complains that her colony costs her more than it yields ; and she would 
 make up the deficiency by driving the population to dig out of the earth by 
 main bodily strength, without the aid of arts, metals of v/hich she reserves 
 for herself the monopoly, as well as that of the salinas. 
 
 If we look over the voluminous records of laws and ordinances by 
 which the country was then governed, it is painfnl to consider the futility 
 of the subjects to which they refer, and the littleness of the motives 
 which have induced their passage. No settled plan ever seems to have 
 been adopted with a view of developing the moral and natural resources 
 of the country. As the government seemed to provide only for the 
 exigencies of the day, so the inhabitants lived but for the day. It is true 
 there are no evidences that the Spanish authority in Upper Louisiana 
 
i; 237 ] 88 
 
 was ever used with cruelty or oppression, or that it was even vexatious ; 
 but it was, perhaps, worse — for it was enervating, and drove to apathy. 
 
 Man, however, obeys the impulses of his facnlties, as matter is govern- 
 ed by its peculiar properties. The Creoles of Upper Louisiana were the 
 descendants of a brave and enterprising nation. Unable to devote their 
 energies to more noble pursuits, or to cultivate the arts of civilized life, 
 they penetrated into the forests, in the midst of numberless tribes of Indians 
 till then unknown, to explore the extensive regions between the Mississippi 
 and the Rocky Mountains, and tiius created tlie fur-trade of this great por- 
 tion of North America. In these hazardous, distant, and prolonged jour- 
 neys, was trained a set of hardy men, from whom sprung the class of men 
 known by the name of voya^evrs, or ejis^nges, who were for a long time, 
 and still are, as necessary and eflicient nn the burning prairies of the west, 
 as the Canadian voyageurs are for the rugged and frozen regions of the 
 north and northwest. These two haughty and indomitable races have a 
 peculiar character; they are half civilized and half savages ; rebellious aud 
 submissive ; possessed of great courage and power of physical endurance, 
 they fear neither the inclemency of seasons, the pains of hunger, the ar- 
 rows of the Indian, nor the danger of exposure to wild beasts; never de- 
 spairing, and always cheerful, they are intelligent, honest, devoted, and 
 gifted with the warmest feelings; they speak, as it were unconsciously, the 
 idioms of the several Indian tribes among whom they have been ; they 
 know all the rivers, all the paths and bypaths, and all the recesses of the 
 wilderne.ss ; they are intimately acquainted with the character and wants 
 of the Indians, and possess a good knowledge of the haunts and habits of 
 the wild animals; — in a word, they are a class of men with whom no mili- 
 tary or scientific expedition, no trading caravan, no traveller of any de- 
 scription, can dispense. 
 
 It was these first exploiers who, under the direction of their employers, 
 whom they called their bourgeois, (boss.) opened the fur trade to the 
 north and west of the Missouri river. Such were the certain advantages 
 offered by this trade, because of the natural facilities of the country in 
 affording shorter and easier means of transportation over the British trade, 
 that, had it been well organized and fostered, it would have made a 
 flourishing place of St. Louis, and established a formidable competition 
 capable of destroying all the influence of the British Company. But 
 the Spanish system was fatal to those great interests. To trade with the 
 Indians was a privilege nominally granted as a reward for services ren- 
 dered ; but, in fact, generally adjudged to the highest bidders. A few 
 merchants only amassed fortunes; whilst the colony derived from it no 
 permanent advantage. Far from this, the natural resources of the country 
 were more and more neglected. Such was the fertility of the soil, that 
 it might have been made the granary of all the Spanish possessions at 
 the south ; and yet scarcely as much grain was raised as answered the 
 wants of the surrounding country. The most active of the colonists 
 had quitted their fields for the precarious profits of the fur-trade ; all the 
 young men turned trappers, hunters, or boatmen ; and the peace and con- 
 tentment of a domestic life were exchanged for one of bustle and ad- 
 venture. The contrast between the two shores of the Mississippi was 
 obvious. The right shore was marked by listlessness and apathy ; whilst 
 the protecting government of Great Britain, although but recently estab- 
 
W 89 [ 237 ] 
 
 lished, had already infused prosperity into the settlements of the left. A 
 wholesome lesson mio^ht have been learned in this contrast; but it was 
 disdained. The colony fell into complete idleness and poverty; and the 
 habits and manners of the inhabitants became, of course, deteriorated, 
 leaving it Air in arrear of the progress which civilization was making 
 around it. Towards tlje close of the last century, all activity and indus- 
 try had vanished. " People,'' says a French writer, "worked only to keep 
 themselves from dying and going barefooted, and seemed satisfied with 
 living out a life of carelessness and ignorance, as unprofitable as it was 
 inglorious." 
 
 Spain, howevtr, at that time appeared to arouse herself in behalf of 
 her Mississippi possessions. The Marquis de Carondelet was still the 
 governor-general at New Orleans, and Mr. Charles Dehault Delassus 
 lieutenant-governor of St. Louis. Being both enlightened men, they 
 were aware " that the admission of foreign settlers of every creed was 
 one of the most certain means of promoting the prosperity of their prov- 
 inces ;" and they might at another epoch have effected much good, but 
 it was then loo late— the times were completely altered. During the 
 precious years lost by Spain, the nations of the two parts of the world 
 had had their feelings aroused for the love of liberty. The Americans 
 had achieved tlieir iiidependence; France had commenced her revolution. 
 If, during these years, the Spanish government, preoccupied at home, had 
 deemed it its best policy to wait for a more propitious occasion to turn a 
 serious look toward Louisiana, it could not fail now to perceive the error. 
 The progress of events, in its onward march, had arrived at that stage 
 when the next step was to change the entire destinies of this magnificent 
 country. 
 
 On the 9th day of July, 1803, at 7 o'clock p. m.— and the precision with 
 which this date is registered indicates the profound sensation with which 
 the news was received— the inhabitants of St. Louis learned, indirectly at 
 first, that Spain had retroceded Louisiana to Napoleon, and that the latter 
 had sold it to the United States. 
 
 It most generally happens that the state of transition in a nation, from 
 a monarchical form of government to one of almost absolute liberty, is 
 one of prolonged struggles. Those nations that have gone through this 
 ordeal know that it can be passed but at the expense of blood, shed in 
 intestine commotions and foreign wars. But, in this respect, the two 
 Louisianas have been more fortunate, for it only required a few years of 
 schooling. It is true, the Upper Louisiana had to pay higher for her tu- 
 ition ; bill this is in the nature of things, for the knowing will always 
 outwit the inexperienced. The good-natured Missourians had not kept 
 pace with the march of civilizauon. Their existence had become, as it 
 were, so isolated and simplifieil, that they had lost sight of the advan- 
 tages of a social compact, which, whilst it imposes salutary restraints, 
 invites emulaiion and stimulates ambition. There were no public schools 
 in the colony ; no regular church, as it was but rarely that the villages 
 were visited by some venerable missionaries, whose number was very 
 small, considering the vast extent of the country. All the purposes of 
 life were embraced within the domestic circle, where virtue, religious 
 faith, and strict honesty were proverbial. Notaries public, lawyers, 
 judges, and tribunals were unknown. There was no other prison than 
 the guard-house of the small Spanish garrison ; and it is asserted that> 
 
£ 237 ] 90 
 
 during upwards of thirty years, there was not a solitary instance of civil 
 dehnquency, or of crime. Bargains were sealed by a grasp of the hand, 
 and ihe currency of the country consisted of deer skins. This state of 
 things did not so much grow out of a relapse to the original- condition of 
 those by wtiom they were surrounded, as of innate candor and simplicity. 
 Old Anglo-Americans who lived among them in these times, and have ex- 
 perienced and enjoyed their heartfelt hospitality, cherish the recollection 
 of them with snicere respect. It is true, that those colonists who engaged 
 themselves in the Indian trade, and were always under arms, as well as 
 those who navigated the rivers, in the transportation of articles of barter, 
 and were most of their time tugging at the oar or handling tlie cordelle — 
 these, certainly, did not exhibit the same unexceptionable simplicity of 
 manners; but such people were almost always absent from the villages. 
 They were birds of passage to their own families ; ana though, in the pur- 
 suit of their several professions, they could not fail to encounter much that 
 was exceptionable and bad, it is hardly lo be presumed that they would 
 poison with it then* own firesides. 
 
 The French descendants of the present day still retain numerous anec- 
 dotes of their ancestors, that graphically describe the unsophisticated nature 
 of the Missourians ; among which I may be permitted to select one. 
 
 A genuine Missourian, it is related, was hovering for some time around 
 the stall of a negro dealer, situated on the bank of the Mississippi, in Lower 
 Louisiana. The dealer was a Kentucky merchant, who, observing him, 
 asked him if he wished to purchase anything? <' Yes," said the Missou- 
 rian, "I should like to buy a negro." He was invited to walk in, made his 
 choice, and inquired the price. "Five hundred dollars," said the dealer ; 
 "but, according to custom, you may have one year's credit upon the pur- 
 chase." The Missourian, at this proposition, became very uneasy ; the 
 idea of having such a load of debt upon him for a whole year was too 
 much. "No, no," said he, "I'd rather pay you six hundred dollars at 
 once, and be done with il." "Very well," said the obliging Kentuckian, 
 "anything to accommodate you." 
 
 But to return to the narrative of events. The treaty having been finally 
 ratified on the 30th of April, IS03, Captain Amos Stoddard took possession 
 of the country, which the Spanish troops evacuated on the 3d of Novem- 
 ber, 1801. Somewhat later, W. H. Harrison, governor and commander-in- 
 chief of the Indian territory and of Upper Louisiana, organized the judici- 
 ary and civil powers ; and on the 2d of July, 1805, General James Wil- 
 kinson, by order of Congress, established the district of Upper Louisiana 
 under a territorial government, which was called Missouri Territory. By 
 this name it was known until 1820, when it was admitted into the Union 
 as the State of Missouri, and its constitution sanctioned by Congress in 
 1821. 
 
 It is easier to imagine than to describe the astonishment and wonder 
 of the good colonists, when, as a sequel to the sundry official acts by 
 which they were declared re/n/,blica7is, and their country a member of 
 the great American confederation founded by Washington, (hey witnessed 
 the arrival of a legion of judges, lawyers, notaries, collector of taxes, &c., 
 Sec, and, above all, a flock of vampires in the shape of land speculators. 
 The simple-minded Creole could not at first exactly realize the sort of 
 liberty which made it a duty, or compelled him, to leave home to go to 
 elections, and to serve as a juryman. St, Louis, however, was the cap- 
 
91 [ 237 ] 
 
 • 
 ital of the Territory, by which the feelings and opinions of the other 
 parts of the colony had been directed ; and there were amono^ her citi- 
 zens men of intelHgence and capacity, whose example and influence pre- 
 vailed over the natural repugnance that always arises in the adoption of a 
 radical change in the poHtical condition of a country, iiiberty, with the 
 popular institutions that accompany her, were welcomed ; their advan- 
 tages were soon understood ; and perhaps no other instance can be found 
 of the amalgamation of a people with a great nation with so much ease 
 and tranquillity. 
 
 What follows to be told of llie history of St, Louis is a part of that of 
 the State of which it is now the emporium. It belongs to the local his- 
 torian to make known the rise and progress of her institutions; under the 
 promoting care of Liberty; foremost among which, he cannot fail to dis- 
 tinguish the noble example of public spirit set by the Catholic clergy, who 
 were the first to establish throughout the country numerous institutions for 
 worship, charity, and public instruction. But, before quilting my narrative, 
 I cannot refrain from alluding to the actual condition of St. Louis, and in- 
 dulging in the prospect of her future greatness. 
 
 The geographical position of the city is favorable to a remarkable de- 
 gree. Situated a few miles below the junction of two of the greatest rivers 
 of the world, it is the natural central depot of all the varied products that 
 reach it by a navigation of one thousand to two thousand miles over these 
 two rivers and their innumerable tributaries. St. Louis is emphatically the 
 key of the Far West ; comprehending within this term the extensive re- 
 gions stretclung between the Mississippi and the Pacific ocean. All distant 
 expeditions to the north, or to the west, must start from St. Louis; and 
 here, also, all their fruits are gathered together, comprising the proceeds 
 of the fur-trade, as well as the mineral and agricultural productions of 
 the whole northern basin of the Mississippi ; whence they are distributed 
 to the various markets of consumption, either by the Mississippi to the 
 Gulf of Mexico, by the Ohio to the Atlantic States, or through Illinois, by 
 the lakes and other opened channels of communication, to the seaboard and 
 the Canada^. 
 
 It is worthy of remark — and her geographical position makes it obvi- 
 ous — that no works of internal improvement can be made by any of the 
 neighboring States, whether to the east or north, or even by those that 
 may hereafter be formed to the north or west, without becoming subser- 
 vient to the interests of St. Louis. Hence the State of Missouri has not 
 deemed it wise to embark hastily in such expenditures; and though, in 
 the true spirit of the time, much reproached on this score, events at this 
 day prove that she acted judiciously. Submitting its great and magnificent 
 territory to the natural and unburdened course of things, without the ne- 
 cessity of levying direct taxes, immigrants have been flocking for several 
 years back to this rich and beautiful country, the resources of which they 
 develop with astonishing rapidity. In 1830, the population of the State 
 was only 140,445 ; that of St. Louis 6.500. In 1S40, the census returned 
 382,702 as the whole number of the inhabitants of the State; and the pop- 
 ulation of St, Louis was estimated, in 1841, at 30,000 within the city limits. 
 The amount of property taxed, according to the city register of the same 
 year, was 8,591,075 dollars. 
 
 The first arrival of a steamboat at St. Louis was in 1819; there are 
 now (October, 1841) no less than 67, of from 150 to 800 tons burden, 
 
[ 237 ] 92 
 
 belonging to the port. The whole number engaged in the navigation' of the 
 waters of the Mississippi and its tributaries, is 310,* most of which come to 
 St. Louis in the course of the year. It was stated above, that Mr, Laclede, 
 in 1763, took three months to come from New Orleans to iSt. Genevieve with 
 his flotilla, a distance of 1.2S6 miles ; whereas, it is not an uncommon thing 
 now, for the larger steamboats to reach St. Louis, which is sixty miles above, 
 in five or six days. Such facts say more than the most eloquent pen could 
 describe. 
 
 In conchiding this historical sketch, a sad reflection involuntarily arises. 
 Is it not surprising that, during the thirty-two years that Spain had posses- 
 sion of Upper Louisiana, the province was never settled by native Spaniards, 
 excepting the oflicers who ruled over it, and a few fur-traders? The in- 
 habitants were French, or ihe descendants of French from Canada or Lower 
 Louisiana; and the Spaniards have left no remembrances of themselves, 
 saving their land register; no institutions, no works, not a single monu- 
 ment of public utility. Doubtless, the golden treasures buried in the moun- 
 tains of Mexico and of South America were too alluring to allow emigrants 
 to be tempted from them, and engage themselves in the labors of agriculture 
 in the rich valley of the Mississippi. But, taking a retrospect when Spain 
 was the greatest of maritime powers ; when, during the reign of Ferdinand 
 and Isabella, her navigators discovered new worlds, giving her an empire 
 on which the snn never set ; when the great armada struck terror in the 
 bosom of the haughty Elizabeth, — it becomes painful to think how epheme- 
 ral is the ascendency even of the bravest and most prosperous nations ! how 
 truly rapid their decline and fall ! 
 
 •A list of these steamboats was published in October, 1841, giving the name and tonnn«e» 
 the date when, and the place where built. Most of ihem were buill in the valley of the Ohio* 
 from 1835 lo 1S41, inclusive. 
 
93 [ 237 ] 
 
 PART II. 
 
 I. Determination of altitude by the barometer. — The ordinary methods 
 of ieveUing are slow, laborious, and sometimes almost impracticable, in 
 inoiintainous countries. Hence it is, doubtless, that we have so long neg- 
 lected to collect fiicts relative to the elevation of different regions of the 
 earth's surfl\ce above some fixed level, such as that of the ocean. But, 
 now that science has placed within the reach of everybody the admirable 
 instrument known as the barometer, has rendered it so applicable to the 
 irjcasurement of heights, and has so perfected it as to be capable of results 
 whose precision can be all that is desired, observations by it are being mul- 
 tiplied everywhere; j)ersons learned in sciences and arts are becoming con- 
 tributors : and we have reason to hope very soon for great advancement in 
 the knowledge of the relief of the surface of the earth — a knowledge in- 
 dispensable for civil and military purposes, for physical geography, for geol- 
 ogy, and for topography. 
 
 impressed with the importance of this subject, I should have been want- 
 ing to the plan I had proposed for myself, if, from the very commencement 
 of my travels in the United States, 1 had not endeavored to add my contri- 
 bution to researches in this regard, and in respect to which the country 
 seemed to me almost (so to speak) untrodden. I was provided with sev- 
 eral barometers and accessories; and I found them also, very commonly, 
 in public institutions. I was yet in want of voluntary assistants. I found 
 them always, readily, among the enlightened men who are spread in 
 universities, in colleges, and in society; and from the year 1S33, I was 
 even able to institute a system of meteorological observations, taken four 
 or five times a day, at different places, simultaneously with my own ; which 
 daily extended itself as I advanced farther and farther into the country 
 I wished to visit, until it came to embrace a large surface of the territory 
 of the United States ; thus always affording me, in whatever part of the 
 field of my operations 1 might be, some station with which I could com- 
 pare my observations. Under this system has grown a considerable mass 
 of observations ; more than two-thirds of which yet remains to be calcu- 
 lated, and to appear hereafter, independently of such as I publish now, on 
 the occasion of the map. 
 
 And here I cannot deny myself the pleasure of making public ac- 
 knowledgments to the several persons who, in this particular, have given 
 me their time, and honored me with tbeir assistance ; nor can I avoid 
 the duty which obliges me, as 1 think, (and which I hope their delicacy 
 will not be pained by my discharging,) to indicate them by name. Cer- 
 tainly, he who, in the measure of his opportunities and position, supports 
 and furthers science, when it is being directly contributed to by the en- 
 tire devotion and labor of another, merits, almost as much as that other, 
 the gratitude of the public. Assured that every reader will partake of 
 my sentiments on this subject. I shall, witliout further prelude or apology, 
 acknowledge the services 1 have received, in this respect, from the Rev. 
 A. Verot, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at St. Mary's 
 OoUege, Baltimore ; the Rev. J. Wallace, professor in the university, Co- 
 lumbia, S, C; my friend. Professor H. Guenebault, lately of Savannah, Ga., 
 
[ 237 ] 94 
 
 now of Charleston, S. C. ; Doctors Milton Antony, Diisrard, and Ford, 
 of the Medical College in Augusta, Georgia; Dr. Henry Hull and- Mr. J. 
 Jackson, both professors in the university of Athens. Georgia; Mr. Fred- 
 erick Dugar, of Georgia ; Lieut. G. W. Long, Mr. J. Lewis, Col. A. Ma- 
 rat, and my friend L. Goldsborough, U. S. N., in Florida ; my friend, the 
 Rev. J. Lerne, and Mr. Girard, Mobile ; the Rev. Mr. Tissot, in New 
 Orleans ; Professor J. Lee Bliss, in Natchez ; Mr. J. Hamilton and Dr. 
 G. Troost, both professors in the university at Nashville; Captain J. Saun- 
 ders, U. S. engineers, at Pittsburg; Capt. R. K. Lee and Lieut. Bliss, U. S. 
 engineers, during their engineering operations at the Des Moines rapids, 
 on the Mississippi ; Mr. Henry H. Sibley and Major L. 'Taliaferro, at St. 
 Peter's : the Revs. P. J. Smedt and Felix "Werreydf, missionaries among 
 the Pottawatomies at Gamp Kearney, near Council Bluffs, on the Missouri ;. 
 the late Rev. J, A. Vansewecvelt, professor of niathemaiics and natural ()hi- 
 losophy in the university of St. Louis; last, my friend R. Paul, C. E , and 
 Dr. G. Englemann, at St, Louis. The most of these gentlemen supplied 
 me with months, and some with years, of meteorological observations, which 
 are of the utmost importance to me ; and the interest which they have 
 taken in my labors, from the commencement, has often excited me to per- 
 severance, under circumstances at times very little encouraging. But, to 
 my highly esteemed friend, Dr. Englemann, my special acknowedgment is 
 due for the great attention which he gave to the meteorological observa- 
 tions, for a period of more than three years. 
 
 Dr. Englemann is not only a gentleman eminent in his profession, but 
 lie cultivates, also, with great distinction, several branches of natural liis- 
 tory ; and it is gratifying to the scientific traveller, going to the west, to 
 meet with a learned man such as Dr. Englemann ; — always warmly dis- 
 posed to assist him, and supply valuable information upon the country he 
 is visiting. 
 
 The problem of the determinaii^m of altitudes above the ocean, is one 
 of the most interesting subjects for investigation that present themselves 
 in the vast field where pure mathematics are applied to physical phenomena. 
 All know that the height of mercury in a barometer depends upon the 
 weight of the air; and that this height lessens, the higher the observer is 
 in the atmosphere. Of this simple relation between the barometric heights 
 and the vertical space pas.^^ed through, men of science have taken advan- 
 tage, and have furnished formulae and tables, by means of which ihe prob- 
 lem can be more or less exactly solved. 
 
 Among these methods, there is one which recommends itself, particu- 
 larly in practice, as procuring the greatest exactitude, and as being uni- 
 versal for all latitudes, and for all elevations above the sea ; — I mean that 
 of the illustrious author of the " Mecanique Celeste." I'he simple and 
 convenient tables of Mr. Oltmann, which were constructed in accordance 
 with this celebrated theorj^, are what I have used, throughout, m my cal- 
 culations.* 
 
 There are two practical methods with the barometer for determining 
 the altitude of a place above the sea. The first consists in ascertaining 
 
 * No bins; is wanting here, but ihe rigorous development of whal is observed to be practically 
 of some influence, but which has not jei been discussed in a manner conformable to the other 
 portions of the theory, — I mean the varying pressure of the vapor alwa)'s in the atmo^iphere, 
 according to its quantity and the temperature. But this does not require to be enlarged oa 
 now. 
 
95 [ 237 ] 
 
 the mean annual height of the barometer, and the mean annual tcinpera- 
 iure of the atmosphere, observed diirino; many years, at the same place. 
 With these two elements, we deduce the absohite ahitude of the place; 
 starling with the conventional principle, that at the level of the sea the mean 
 height of the French barometer is 0.7029 metre, and the mean temperature 
 12"^ S' centigrade; and of the English barometer, 30 inches, with a m.ean 
 temperature of 02° Fahrenheit. 
 
 This method, because of its length, is not practicable for the traveller di- 
 rectly. Tile numerous observations which it demands belong, of course, to 
 a regular and permanent system of meteorological observations, having a 
 more extens•^ive object in view, and rarely met but in the public institutions 
 of large cities; so that, in fact, the traveller can only apply it as far as he 
 may have the good fortune to come, in his route, upon some station where 
 such a system has been established and followed with good instruments and 
 appropriate care. In such case, he avails himself of his good fortune to 
 have the absokUe height of the barometer at this station, and to refer to it 
 all the heights he may measure, until his distance from it no longer admits 
 his observations to be compared with those of the station. 
 
 Nevertheless, he should not fail to institute a stationary system of meteor- 
 ological observations by himself, or by others, wherever he can find oppor- 
 tunity : independently of the immediate service that such observations ren- 
 der to meteorology, and a knowledge of the climate of the region, they be- 
 come, in their coniinuance, useful some day to himself or to others, for the 
 very method of which wc have been speaking, and for its varied and im- 
 portant applications. The extension of this method, from the long time it 
 takes, and the frequent observations it demands, will, doubtless, hereafter be 
 fertile in great results in this branch of physical science. 
 
 In the philosophical study ot nature, where we seek to determine the laws 
 that govern progressive and variable phenomena, which are continually pre- 
 senting themselves, we want chiefly jmints of departure well fixed, and ob- 
 servations made with care, to show us the vicissitudes of the phenomena, so 
 as to connect the present and the past by numerical comparisons of deter- 
 minate epochs. In this regard, 1 may use the words of the Nestor of scien- 
 tific travellers. Baron Alexander Yon Humboldt : 
 
 "If only in every thousand years the mean temperature of the atmo- 
 sphere and of the earth, in different latitudes, could have been determined, 
 or the mean height of the barometer at the shore of the ocean, we should 
 know in what ratio the heat of different climates has increased or dimin- 
 ished, and if any change has taken place in the height of the atmosphere." 
 
 The second method is a compowid barometric levelUng^ and consists in 
 the compari^^on of the respective heights of the portable barometer with the 
 height of a stationary barometer, set up at a point whose absolute altitude is 
 known. Of course, the observations to be compared must be as much as 
 possible corresponding and simultaneous. If the station where the portable 
 barometer is observed be not very far distant from the otiier, which may be 
 called the fixed station, simultaneous readings of the two instruments, and 
 of their respective thermometers, every fifteen minutes, for several hours, 
 are enough to furnish tolerably exact data for the difference of level, espe- 
 cially if the observations are favored by calm weather, with the instruments 
 placed in the shade, and in isolated situations, so as to be exempt from ac- 
 cidental affection or local temperature. But the more remote the fixed and 
 
[ 237 ] 96 
 
 transient stations are from one another, tbe more the number of observations 
 has to be augmented: and, instead of several hours, it may be necessary to 
 <Jevote several days, several weeks, and even several months, according to 
 circumstances, of which the observer is naturally the judge. In all cases, 
 however, he has it in his power to obtain dilFerencesof level almost as exact 
 as he could procure them trigonometrically. In rugged and mountainous 
 regions, full of accide?its, levelling with the barometer will afford results 
 preferable to those of trigonometric measurement. 
 
 At first sigiit, to determine altitudes by the heights of the barometer, 
 would seem to be a problem easily solved in practice. Those who think it 
 really so, would, I apprehend, upon trial, find themselves deceived. There 
 is, in fict, a crowd of considerations to be reflected upon, of attentious and 
 care to be given, arising from and dependent on the construction of the in- 
 struments employed, and on the circumstances in which an observer finds 
 himself placed — particulars which cannot be foresee!), much less prescribed 
 in advance — that he only can estimate, and without the due estimation of 
 which, observations apparently well made are, in reality, good for nothing. 
 For instance: in the first place, the traveller must be familiar with all parts 
 of his instruments; he must be able to repair them, in case of accidents, if 
 they are reparable. He must, further, be perfectly acquainted with the laws 
 of meteorology relating to these instruments, that, in any movement or va- 
 riation actually noticed, he may distinguish between what is the effect of 
 accidental causes, or what is a reofular and periodic movement. Then, to 
 render the observations made at different stations duly comparable, it is ne- 
 cessary that the barometers and thermometers should have been compared 
 one with another, respectively, both in advance and afterwards, if the last is 
 possible ; and that proper account be taken of their discrepancies in the re- 
 duction of the calculation. I need not speak of the additional corrections 
 which have to be applied when the comparison is made between barometers 
 of different manners of construction — as, for instance, between syphon and 
 cistern barometers ; or between those of the latter class, the level of whose 
 cistern is relative, and those whose cistern is adjustable. Of course, I need 
 hardly mention either the precautions which all and any of these instru- 
 ments require in their transportation. The least negligence in this partic- 
 ular may give rise to permanent regret. Indeed, chronometers and barom- 
 eters are inexhaustible sources of anxiety for the travelling ge^ grapher. I 
 do not know moments of greater annoyance than those when one finds a 
 chronometer stopped, or a baroraete^ broken, just when he is about confi- 
 dently to use them. 
 
 When the period for the calculation has arriv^ed, comes first the dis- 
 cussion of the observations, which are to be compared — a tedious, but 
 indispensable labor. In this the correspondence and simultaneity of 
 readings have to be settled ; care must be taken to compare with one 
 another only those observations made under conditions of the atmosphere 
 as nearly as may be similar; and the circumstances of the two stations, 
 during the corresponding periods, are to be investigated, to see that the 
 two instruments have been affected generally in the same manner. But 
 such an entire accord cannot be hoped for when the question is to deter- 
 mine a difference of level between two points at a great distance apart, 
 from a large number of corresponding observations. For these cases we 
 have to take into consideration, and apply the conclusions which have been 
 
97 [ 237 ] 
 
 recommended by the most eminent observers. For example : Mr. Ramond 
 has furnished ns with indications in this regard, derived from his long ex- 
 perience in Europe. These indications, whicii flow naturally from the 
 theory, I have found also to be verified in the plains of western America, 
 where the physical circumstances are relatively the same. 
 
 1. We are liable to estimate altitudes too low, when the observation 
 of the barometer have been in the morning or in the evening ; when the 
 lower barometer being on the plain, the upper is in a narrow deep valley ; 
 when tlie wind blows strongly from the south ; finally, when the weather 
 is about to be, or is already, stormy ; — a case which gives rise to great 
 errors. 
 
 2. We are liable, on the contrary, to estimate altitudes too high, when 
 the observation is made between noon and two or three o'clock, p. m.. 
 especially in the summer, and under a hot sun ; when the upper barometer 
 benig on the summit of a mountain, the lower is in a confined and domi- 
 nated ravine; when there is a strong northerly wind, especially if the ob- 
 servation be made on a mountain with such a wind striking on the steepest 
 side. 
 
 It agrees, then, with these valuable notices, that the best period of the day 
 for barometric observations of the altitude of mountains, is just about noon ; 
 and that observations made early in the morning, or late in the evening, 
 are the most subject to errors, which may be referred to the ascending or 
 descending currents, which, at such hours, are taking place in the atmo- 
 sphere, and to the varying degree of its dryness. 
 
 To all such rules, furnished by science and experience, I have conformed, 
 as far as I have been capable. Everything was to do in relation to the 
 subject in the west, when I first went there. After all, I have only laid the 
 foundations of a great and important work, which others will add to and 
 enrich ; and I have reason to hope, therefore, that the numerous results of 
 this kind, which I present in the Table of Geographical Positions, will be 
 received with indulgence. 
 
 All these altitudes, with the exception of what is south of the entr&nce 
 of the Ohio, have been referred to the ordinary low water in the Missis- 
 sippi at St. Louis. The absolute height of the barometer at this point 
 was not known ; and my addressing myself to the reverend fathers the 
 Jesuits at the head of the University of St. Louis, and engaging them 
 in making meteorological observations, was the first approach towards 
 obtaining it. They acquiesced cheerfully in my proposal, as they 
 do with everything tendmg to the advancement of learning. The late' 
 reverend Mr. Vansweevelt charged himself with the task, for which I 
 gave him a fine cistern barometer of Troughton, and received afterwards 
 nineteen months of observations, made five times a day, and followed as 
 regularly as his official duties would permit, through the years 1835 and 
 1836. 
 
 When Mr. Vansweevelt was obliged to discontinue his observations, 1 
 had the good fortune to find a successor, not less zealous, in Dr. Engel- 
 mann, who was provided with a syphon barometer, graduated in French- 
 inches, and who followed these observations with a regularity that was 
 unlooked for from a person so occupied otherwise with professional en- 
 gagements. The years to which these observations refer are 1837, 1838.. 
 1839, and some montlis of 1840. 
 7 
 
I 237 ] 98 
 
 With these two barometers, as well before as after my excursions in the 
 west, I compared those which were for use in my journeys. Unfortunate- 
 ly, we were not able to compare the two between themselves directly at the 
 epoch when the care of making the observations passed from one hand to 
 another, as 1 have already mentioned ; nor for the subsequent reductions 
 am I able to say which of the two instruments was more reliable than the 
 other, or that either was entirely to be considered as what is called a stand- 
 ard barometer ; although, in relation to my travelling barometers, they have 
 been both necessarily so regarded, respectively. 
 
 The two series observed, as I have indicated, and makiiig use only of 
 the noon readings, have served for me to deduce the elevation of St. 
 Louis above the Gulf of Mexico. It must be remarked, however, that 
 the aggregate of the observations, independent of what has already been 
 said, is not numerous enough to assure the exactness of an element so 
 delicate as the mean annual heiglu of the barometer. Experience proves 
 that many years of observations are required for that. The absolute 
 elevation, therefore, which I have assigned to St. Louis in the table, will, 
 probably, hereafter have to be amended. It may be that the absolute 
 height of the barometer, by which it is implied, is uncertain, to at least 
 0.050 inch, and that the effect of the error is to make the altitude too 
 high. 
 
 As for some time the members of the Western Academy have under- 
 taken a regular system of meteorological observations, we have reason to 
 hope that, in some years from this, there will be a definite clearing up of 
 this point. Then the correction, which turns out proper to be applied to 
 the altitude of St. Louis, will be also applicable, in the same sense, to all the 
 altitudes of the table which are north of the mouth of the Ohio. The rela- 
 tive differences of level will remain the same ; only the absolute level above 
 tide will be changed. 
 
 When the course of my observations carried me to the regions of the 
 north and northwest, the stationary barometer at St. Louis, to which my 
 portable barometers were referred, became too distant for simultaneous ob- 
 servations to be any longer comparable. I had foreseen this difficulty, and 
 had succeeded in establishing, as soon as needed, two new fixed barometer 
 stations, much higher north— the one at St. Peter's on the Mississippi ; 
 the other at Camp Kearney, near Council Bluffs, on the Missouri. At 
 each of these points there was a stationary barometer, corresponding four 
 or five times in the day with the barometer at St. Louis, and affording, 
 at the same time, for my portable barometers, a reference to one or the 
 other, according as my position at any time brought one or the other the 
 nearest. 
 
 Nevertheless, as both of these stations are at a great distance from St. 
 Louis, whether the length of the journey necessary for communicating 
 between them, or their geographical positions and direct distance apart, be 
 considered, it became necessary that their differences of level, as respects 
 St. Louis, should be determined by the greatest number of observations 
 possible. In this view, I deem it fit to introduce here the results of these 
 determinations. 
 
 \. The station at Cawp Kearney was occupied by the venerable mis- 
 sionaries, the Rev. Messrs. De Smedt and Werreydt. I furnished them 
 with a barometer, well compared with that of Dr. Engelmann at St. 
 Louis, and with my own, and delivered it at thdr missionary station in 
 
20 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 20 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 20 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 20 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 13 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 99 [237] 
 
 good condition. Mr. De Smedt, with whom I had passed some days of 
 travel on the Missouri, soon made himself acquainted with the manner 
 of taking observations; and proved it, in furnishing me with a four 
 months' series, made with a care that the most scrupulous examination 
 could only confirm, and embracing the period between the 17th of May 
 and 17th of September, 1839 — an interval during which 1 was exploring 
 the northwest. 
 
 The barometer at St. Louis was situated in a small exposed plain ; that 
 at Camp Kearney was placed in the valley of the Missouri, which is deep, 
 and often three to live miles wide. Using only the noon observations for 
 both, grouping them by 20's, and applying the reduction of the stations to 
 their respective levels, the calculations give the following results : 
 
 Station at Camp Kearney, above St. Louis, by — 
 20 observations at noon, in May and .lune, 1839 
 in June, 1839 
 in June and July, 1839 
 in July and August, 1839 - 
 in August, 1839 
 in September, 1839 - . - 
 
 113 do. do. mean difference of level 
 
 Reduction for St. Louis to the Gulf - 
 
 Altitude of the Missouri, at low water, near Council Bluffs, 
 above Gulf of Mexico . . - - - 
 
 These detailed results appear to me satisfactory enough, regard being had 
 to the horizontal distance between the two stations. 
 
 2. Having made, in 1836 and 1837, a long stay at St. Peter's, under the 
 hospitable roof of my particular friend Major Taliaferro, (then and now the 
 Indian agent,) and having again visited the place in 1838 and 1839,1 have 
 had the occasion of determining its altitude with barometers of dissim- 
 ilar construction, and by observations made in the course of three different 
 years. 
 
 The barometer was placed in my chamber at the Indian agency near 
 Fort Snelling, on the beautifol plateau of St. Peter's, which presents a per- 
 fectly open plain. 
 
 The following are the results of the calculation, reduced to the level of 
 the Mississippi, for both stations respectively : 
 
 Station at St. Peter's, above St. Louis : 
 
 1836, July. — By 20 observations at noon, referred to the ba- ^ 
 
 rometer at the University of St. Louis, (these observations 
 were made before my departure for the sources of the Mis- 
 sissippi) ...-.-. 342 feet. 
 
 October, — By 20 observations at noon, referred to the barome- 
 ter of the University of St. Louis, (these observations were 
 made on my return from the sources of the Mississippi) - 381 " 
 
 1838, May and June. — By 20 observations at noon, referred 
 
 to Dr. Bngelmann's barometer at St. l^ouis - - 365 " 
 
 1839, September. — By 20 observations at noon, referred, inter- 
 mediately through another barometer, to Dr. Engelmann's 359 " 
 
 598 
 
 feet 
 
 680 
 
 a 
 
 633 
 
 (( 
 
 659 
 
 u 
 
 694 
 
 tt 
 
 667 
 
 a 
 
 655 
 
 li 
 
 382 
 
 (C 
 
 1,037 
 
 « 
 
[ 237 ] 100 
 
 By 80 observatious at noon, mean difference of level - 362 feet. 
 
 Reduction for St. Louis to the Gulf - - - 382 " 
 
 Altitude of the Mississippi, at low water, near St. Peter's, 
 
 abovp. the Gulf of Mexico .... 744 <; 
 
 The accordance of these detailed results appears to me satisfactory, 
 when account is taken of the different circumstances under which these 
 elements have been obtained. The observations of the month of October 
 present the greatest discrepancy. The autumnal season was then too far 
 advanced, during which the oscillations of the barometer begin to be 
 rapid. It is, therefore, very rarely that 1 have made use of barometric 
 observations taken at this period of the year, except when the state of the 
 atmosphere (as is sometimes the case in the west during the fall) was ex- 
 tremely favorabl<?. 
 
 But, leaving this point, 1 consider that these two principal stations pre- 
 sent results in altitude sufficiently exact to answer the cedls of geography, 
 of geology, or of general topography. 
 
 These stations of the second order, in reference to St. Louis, have thus 
 served as a base for a greater number of stations of the third order. All 
 the heights observed in the upper regions, to the south and west of St. 
 Peter's, have been referred to the barometer of this station ; and all the 
 heights taken in the region of the northwest, in the great valley of the Mis- 
 souri, and on the western slope of the Coteaii des Prairies, have been re- 
 ferred to the station near Council Bluffs. 
 
 In regard to the stations of the third order, I must remark, that there are 
 many whose altitudes are determined, not by a transient reading of the 
 barometer, but by sets of observations taken during my stay at such sta- 
 tions, both for this purpose and for the astronomical part of my work, or 
 for the reconnoissance of the adjacent country. Such are the stations at 
 the Traverse des Sioux, Lac qui-parle, lake Shetek, Spirit lake, the sources 
 of La Hontan river, Okamanpidan lake, the head of the Coteau des Prai- 
 ries, lake Mini-wakan, at Otuhu, or Talle de Chene.s, on the Tchan-san- 
 san river. Fort Pierre Chouteau, Huppan-Kutey prairie, Cedar island. Five 
 Barrel island, on the Missouri, and some others. And in 1836, during my 
 campaign to the sources of the Mississippi, I stopped, with the same object, 
 at Crow wing river, at Guyashk lake, at Kadikomeg lake, Sandy lake, 
 Leech lake, Itasca lake, and elsewhere. 
 
 Further, as to the relative level of the ground, and its irregularities 
 which we passed over in our daily marches, the method pursued has 
 been this : " We observed the meteorological instruments in the morning, 
 before breaking up the camp ; we also observed them in the evening, 
 when arrived at a new spot, where we were to pass the night ; thus in- 
 forming ourselves of the barometric range during the night, and obtain- 
 ing some premonitions of the state of the atmosphere to be expected on 
 the morrow. During the day, wherever the soil presented to us character- 
 istic undulations, ridges, hills, hillocks, or btittes, or deep glens enclosing 
 some stream, we halted to observe for their relative differences of level ^ 
 i. e„ we measured the highest points in reference to the general surface 
 of the plain at their base ; and the surface of plateaux bordering rivers, in 
 reference to the bed of the stream; then, to reduce these levels, so ob- 
 tained, to that of the sea, I could refer them to those which had been 
 
101 [ 237 J 
 
 measured at points of the third order, where \vc had made a more or loss 
 protracted stay; and, finally, to confirm the levelling of these transient 
 stations, which may be termed of the fourth order, we had the control from 
 two extreme and limiting stations of the third order, together with the 
 lights derived from our continuous sketches of the route, and the descrip- 
 tive journal of what we saw. 
 
 I ask pardon ior entering into details, tedious and useless even for 
 those who are familinr with the subject of wiiich 1 have been treating. 
 But I believed that I ought not to dispense with a candid exposition of 
 the methods of observation which, in this particular, were left for me to 
 follow. 
 
 II. The best method of determining lime, in exploring expeditions, when 
 one is not provided with a transit instrument, is to measure the absohite 
 altitudes of the sun, or of some principal stars, taken both east and west of 
 the meridian of the spot where the observation is to be made. 
 
 The method of equal aliiindes, which appears still generally adhered 
 to, exposes such an expedition to loss of time, without offering any deci- 
 ded advantages over the observation of absolute altitudes. In order to ef- 
 fect the utmost possible, the whole day-tiiTie has to be occupied in gaining 
 ground and distaijce, in reconnoitring and sketching the features of the 
 country ; while a portion of the night must be devoted to astronomical ob- 
 servations, however strong might be otherwise the desire for repose. The 
 health of the observer, too, requires that he should not expose himself, with- 
 out absolute necessity, to make a long stand under the direct heat of the sun ; 
 and, more than all, the method of equal altitudes, while it causes a halt 
 for several hours, exposes, also, to the regret of seeing the sun passing the 
 meridian without avail : for it must be remembered that the season lor such 
 expeditions (the finest part of the year) is also the season during which the 
 sun, with his high northern declination, cannot be reached at noon with 
 the divisions of the sextant. 
 
 But, with the method of absolute allitudes, two or three series of obser- 
 vations to the east, and two or three series to the west of the m.eridian, 
 taken in the course of the same night, upon some of the principal stars, 
 (which must be selected, as much as possible, to fulfil the theoretical con- 
 ditions required for good hour-angles,) are enough to supply the absence of 
 a transit instrument, which is not always within the means of a private 
 traveller to be procured, or to be carried. 
 
 The calculations which have to be made out in both cases, (absolute 
 altitudes and meridian transits,) do not diffei: in amount enough to offer 
 advantage in the employment of either one above the other ; for if, on the 
 one hand, there are no hour-angles to deduce from absolute altitudes, there 
 is not less the necessity of observing stars differing much in declination, 
 in order to determine the deviation oF the instrument from the plane of thte 
 meridian. 
 
 Now, to make a judicious application of the method of absolute alti- 
 tudes, it must be remembered that the formukc for the calculation of the 
 hour-angle are derived with the assumption that the changes of altitude 
 in the heavenly bodies, above the horizon, are proportional to the times: 
 but this can be taken as strictly true only for short intervals of time — say 
 four or five minutes. To prolong, therefore, a series of observations be- 
 yond a term like this, is to introduce a case wherein must be used 
 
[ 237 ] 102 
 
 another formula for the correction to be applied to the hour-angle, deter- 
 mined as before, in order to restore it to the exactitude of which the gen- 
 eral formula is susceptible. The rule for practice, then, is to observe the 
 greatest number of altitudes possible in a brief interval ; which ought not 
 to exceed, at most, four or five minutes of time. 
 
 Finally, in order to render all the circumstances, as nearly as may be, 
 equal in the comparisons which have then to be instituted to assure us of 
 the daily rate of the chronometers, and the absolute time of the place, it 
 should be made a point to observe the same stars to the east and to the 
 west, as long as their presence above the horizon continues to offer favora- 
 ble positions for good hour-angles; and as the period approaches for giving 
 up some of them, before dispensing with these to iuiroduce others, it is 
 well to take in the latter, in common, for a night or two, and connect, in 
 this way, the comparisons of stars that are going out, with those of stars 
 that are coming in. 
 
 Such are the principles and motives which have directed me in the con- 
 stant employment of the method of absolute altitudes for determining the 
 time of a place. 
 
 111. The latitude of any place cannot be regarded as exactly determined 
 but by deduction from several series of observations, made to the north 
 and to the south of the zenith of the place. The object of this precept is 
 liere the same with that which, in determining time, obliges the observation 
 of stars to the east and to the west of the meridian : this object is to compen- 
 sate the constant errors of the instrument, or those which may arise from 
 a defective adjustment. 
 
 Two good series taken in one night — one to the north, the other to the 
 south ol the zenith, and each of from 10 to 15 readings — can furnish, by 
 their mean result, a latitude sufficiently precise for the wants of geogra- 
 phy. Much more would be required if the station in question is destuied 
 to serve as a term of comparison in a great geodetic operation, or to be- 
 come some day the locality of an important town. An observer in this re- 
 gard, may anticipate after times, and estimate what he is allowed to do in 
 supererogation, as it were, without injury to the more special and tempo- 
 rary interests of his mission. 
 
 In our hemisphere, the sky south of the zenith is always sufficiently full 
 of principal stars to furnish, in the course of one night, circum-meridian 
 series; and to the north, the constellations about the pole ofler to the ob- 
 server everything he needs. The North star, above all, by its proximity 
 to the pole, is cnpable of being observed at any point on its parallel, and 
 of being used to deduce the latitude of a place with as much precision as 
 if it had been taken at one or the other of its meridian passages. In the 
 short but fine season which may be annually devoted to the reconnoissance 
 of those temperate regions, such as 1 have had occasion to explore, there 
 is rarely a night in which a propitious sky does not ofler intervals favorable 
 for some observations, giving at least an approximate latitude, should it be 
 unsuitable to make a longcrhalt. 
 
 By giving orders to the sentries of the camp, according to what he de- 
 sires to execute during the night, an active observer can always recon- 
 cile some hour of sleep with his duty, whatever little importance may 
 attach to the station, even if it be of the order of those that may be neg- 
 lected without losing much. Now that any method puts us in the way 
 
103 [ 237 ] 
 
 of making such a station of use, T think that no observer can neglect it 
 without regret. For, in territories htile known, and which civilized man 
 is visiting for the first time, a latitude deduced from even a single series 
 for a point, whence but a few years ago you would on the morrow have 
 continued your route without having been able to do anything by the 
 methods then known and employed, acquires a value ; and if, in this 
 chance of some favorable instants, your chronometer allows you to reckon 
 a difference of longitude, you have added a geographical position, which, 
 however imperfect it may be, according to circumstances, is yet always 
 better than nothing. Thus, since by employing the method of which I 
 have been speaking, an observer wants only one hour to determine his 
 geographical position, v/e may easily conceive the importance of the ser- 
 vice he can render to geography by a little activity and a judicious distri- 
 bution of his time. In geographical explorations loe can neglect nolhing, 
 or we are pursued and punished by bitter regrets, which arise directly we 
 have left the station behind, to tell us that we have failed to draw from the 
 means in our power all that was offered to us. These regrets revive with 
 even more intensity at the period of constructing the maps. 
 
 1 have made considerable use in this method of the North star ; and when 
 1 recall the time and expense it has saved, I feel a lively gratitude, both to 
 that astronomer who first knew how to make it simple and exact, and thus 
 recommended it to the practice of geographers, and to those scientific men 
 who have made its application still more easy and short, by introducing it 
 annually in the form of tables, in the - Ephemerides of the Heavens." 
 Hare I not reason to entertain such a sentiment in reflecting that, of 590" 
 or 600 geographical positions, more or less completed, which 1 have had 
 occasion to observe during seven years of journeying under American skies, 
 there are not fifteen, the determination of which has not been efficaciously 
 contributed t© by the North star ? 
 
 The methods which science places at the disposal of the geographer, in 
 relation to the problem of the latitude, are truly remarkable, and form a 
 system as complete as could be devised. There remains not an instant of 
 the night or day in which this problem cannot be now practically solved, 
 provided only some region of the heavens be presented disencumbered of 
 clouds. 
 
 For my part, 1 have not disdained to make use even of the method prac- 
 tised at sea for finding the latitude hij two altitudes of the sun. This 
 method gives a good result when one is able to combine the times of the 
 observations, so as to satisfy the conditions required by the theory ; but, 
 even under less favorable circumstances, a suflicient accuracy can still be 
 obtained for geographical purposes. 1 have employed it in those cases 
 where, coming unexpectedly upon geographical points of some interest, 1 
 could fit the halt for the observation with that required ; for instance — for 
 the morning's meal, or to allow a rest to the men and horses of the expedi- 
 tion during the heat of the afternoon. I have also applied it whenever, 
 having held up early in the day at a ])lace which 1 intended to make an 
 astronomical station at night, the indications of the barometer caused rne 
 to fear the occurrence of a sky unfavorable to my object; while I wished 
 to avoid, nevertheless, the loss of a station to which I could not spare more 
 than that one night. The observations of this sort are numerous in my 
 journal ; but the number to which I have been obliged to have recourse is 
 very limited, owing to the good fortune of having been enabled to make 
 
[ 237 ] 104 
 
 night observations. Yet, as these few have been useful to me in the con- 
 struction of the map, they furnish me with grounds of congratuhuion upon 
 my extra caution. They will be recognised, in the accompanying Tuble 
 of Geographical Position?, as latitudes expressed only in round minutes, 
 without seconds. 
 
 IV. The geographer, if he be provided with a telescope, may determine 
 longitudes by observations of the eclipses of the satellites of Jupiier, of 
 (what is much more important) eclipses of the sun, of occultations of the 
 planets and the iSxed stars by the moon ; and, finally, of the transits of the 
 inferior planets over the sun's disc. The " Epbemerides" apprize him be- 
 forehand of the periods and of the principal places where these phenomena 
 will be visible, and furnish, also, the elements of calculation necessary as 
 well to prepare for the observations themselves, as to deduce from them the 
 longitude of the station where they shall have been made. But these phe- 
 nonjena are of rare occurrence ; and when tliey do present themselves, the 
 condition of the atmosphere does not always favor the observation. Mt ans, 
 therefore, more prompi. and even more precise, were a great desideratum 
 in science — and science has supplied them. 
 
 Such means are found in the transit instrument. By observing with that 
 instrument the right ascension of the moon's bright limb, and the right 
 ascension of some .'tar near the moon's parallel, and not differing much 
 from her in meridian transit, it will enable the observer to determine the 
 difference between the meridian of his place and the primary meridian of 
 the "Epbemerides" in his hands, or any other meridian where he may 
 suppose that similar and corresponding observations have been made. 
 
 But both of these methods are yet ol very rare resort for geography, 
 inasmuch as the first cost of the instruments, the difficulty and expense 
 of transportation, and even the time they require for setting up and adjust- 
 ment, are far from being always at the disposal of the exploring traveller. 
 He finds himself reduced, then, like the navigator, to the method of 
 lunar distances, both for obtaining absolute longitudes, and for control- 
 ling the differences of successive meridians indicated to him by the chro- 
 nometer. 
 
 This method of lunar distances is laborious in the observation, as well 
 as in the calculation ; but it is certain in its results, when applied with, 
 discernment. It demands a great number of individual observations, in 
 order to attenuate the errors which may arise from defective adjustment 
 of the instrument, or from the habit of the observer in making the con- 
 tact — some being liable to have such contact too strong; others too weak. 
 A small error in the measured distance has a great effect upon the longi- 
 tude calculated; and the mode to divide these errors consists in observing 
 several series of^ distances to stars, some of which are to the east, and others 
 to the west of the moon. These series must be combined, as much as 
 possible, by couples or pairs ; — that is to say, after having taken the first 
 series on one side of the moon, the second should be then immediately 
 taken on the opposite side. It is in this manner, at least, that I have the 
 habit to do ; and it seems to me, from my experience, that more confi- 
 dence is to be placed in a longitude that is the mean result of two 
 series only, managed in the manner I have indicated, than if it were the 
 mean result of a greater number of scries taken throughout on the same 
 side of the moon. When the distances to be measured are between the 
 
lOo [ 237 ] 
 
 moon and the sun, we lose, of course, tl.is advantage of observing, in the 
 same day, such coupled series us I have been insisting on. But here ex- 
 perience shows that an observer has greater opportunity in the daytime for 
 .good adjustment, and better observing, than at night. If, then, he avails 
 himself of this, by extreme care he can still obtain results of satisfactory 
 exactness for geography. Further, in this case he has often the occasion 
 of improving the result by star distances, measured either in the evening 
 after sunset, or in the morning before sunrise; and if in such star dis- 
 tances there be found some lying on the side of the moon opposite the 
 sun, these night observations serve effectually to balance against those 
 made in the day. It is true, we cannot say here that observations, al- 
 though so made on both sides of the moon, but yet at great intervals of 
 time, compose what I have called just now coupled series; because it is 
 not exact to assume that the instrument is, during and after these intervals, 
 under the same physical conditions, and in the same degree of adjustment. 
 But, at least, we may be sure that such observations combine in favor of a 
 longitude more advantageously than if they had been all partial, and taken 
 upon one side only of the moon. 
 
 In every case we see that the method is to provide, as much as possible, 
 distances observed to the east and to the west of the moon, and to take 
 the mean between the average of those on one side, and the average of 
 those on the other. In general, five or six couples of series, each seties , 
 containing 10 or 12 individual observations, arc capable of giving a longi- 
 tude, whose error will be within limits from one to three or four minutes 
 in arc. 
 
 The method of lunar distances may be put in practice on land, as is 
 sometimes done for hydrography ; and it becomes, then, of great useful- 
 ness, by the facility it affords, with the aid of well-regulated chronometers, 
 of referring to one principal station all the series of distances taken at 
 different stations that have been occupied in several successive days, so 
 as to introduce them all to a concurrent determination of the absolute 
 longitude of this principal station, just as if they had been all made at 
 that one station. In this way the geographer, who can rely upon his 
 chronometer, with sufficient indications of favorable weather for a few 
 days, and is well informed by his guides of the country he has to pass 
 over, may dispense with a long halt at one of his stations, and then gain 
 time — not unfrcquently precious, from the circumstances in which he finds 
 himself placed. 
 
 It is in accordance with these methods that the observations have been 
 made, from which are deduced the geographical positions presented in the 
 table at the end of this report. 
 
 These positions are, in all, 240 ; of which 39 are due to the labor of 
 others, and have been collected for use, from the sources named in the 
 appropriate cohmm of the table. The remainder, which are my own, 
 are in number 201; resting upon about GOO series of 5 observations each, 
 for the determination o{ time ; and about 500 series of from 10 to 20 ob- 
 servations each, for the determination of latitude and longitude: making, 
 together, 1,100 series, composed of nearly 11,000 astronomical altitudes 
 and distances. 
 
 As to the meteorological observations for the determination of the ele- 
 vation of the stations above the sea, it is not possible, without a tedious 
 and unnecessary research, to state their number accurately. The table 
 
[ 237 ] 106 
 
 contains 165 altitudes, the elements of which consist of not less than 10,000 
 barometric and thermometric readings ; and if to these be added what I 
 caused to be observed at various points, to serve for comparison and redac- 
 tion, we shall not come short of OU,0UO meteorological observations, which 
 have had to be availed of in some sort, for this particular, in the geographi- 
 cal positions I present. 
 
 The astronomical observations have been made with different sextants. 
 The one most commonly used is of a kind known under the name of Hopp^s 
 improved sextant, and having a radius of nine inches. Others of six-inch 
 radius, occasionally employed, came from the shop of Mr. Troughton. 1 
 was provided with two chronometers ; one of which, by Brockbank, espe- 
 cially, has preserved, for two years, a rate truly striking, if one considers 
 the difficulties of the region we had to explore. 
 
 The observations of the campaigns of 1838 and 1839 were made by 
 Lieutenant Fremont and myself; Mr. Fremont counting the chronometer 
 and reading. But, in the year before, during which I explored the 
 sources of the Mississippi and the adjacent regions, being without an as- 
 sistant, I had to answer by myself for every part of the observation ; and 
 as the stations were constantly at the junction of rivers, or on the shore of 
 some lake, it would be difficult for me to describe what I had to undergo, 
 from wet, from insects, and from want of an organization proper to favor 
 my work. 
 
 The elements of the celestial bodies observed, as they were needed 
 for the calculation, were taken from the "Nautical Almanac;" and the 
 calculation of this considerable mass of astronomical observations has been 
 executed by Lieutenant Fre nont and myself, aided for three months by 
 Lieutenant E. P. Scammon, corps of topographical engineers, whose zeal 
 and intelligence on this occasion, as well as the talent with which he has 
 assisted Lieutenant Fremont in the construction of the map, insures my 
 gratitude. 
 
 The reconnoissance of the country traversed each day, or rather the 
 survey of our route, by land or by water, was made by taking the mag- 
 netic bearing of every point, by estimating its distance, and by making, 
 as we went, a connected sketch or bird's-eye view of the whole, and very 
 often including distant points of importance indicated to us by the guides, 
 to which one of us always went to take note of. This part of the labor I 
 assigned to liieutenant Fremont ; and his co-operation during 1838 and 
 1839, while it left me more time to spend upon other duties, as the chief 
 of the expedition, proved also otherwise advantageous, by the talents 
 which he displayed for this branch of service, and the activity and ac- 
 curacy v;hich have always characterized whatever he has had occasion 
 to perform under my directions. There has been no exception to this 
 arrangement, unless under some particular circumstances, or in cases 
 where, to gain time, we were divided into two parties, to explore different 
 districts. So, in 1838, while I was making the reconnoissance of the 
 beautiful region to which I have given the name of Undine, Lieutenant 
 Frdmont was employed upon that of the [\'azi-oju river, (riviere aux 
 Embarras of the French,) which falls into the Mississippi seventeen miles 
 below lake Pepin, and which I supposed then to be a river that would 
 play an important part in some treaty with the Indians, which the gov- 
 ernment appeared to project. So, too, in 1839, while we were going up 
 the Missouri, in order not to lose the advantage presented to us ia th« 
 
107 [ 237 ] 
 
 steamboat of the American Fur Company of St. Louis, upon which we 
 were, which did not run in the night, but made very long day trips, I 
 divided the work of these daily sketches, of which 1 have spoken, into 
 three portions. 1 charged myself with a part commencing at daybreak, 
 and continuing uniil 9 o'clock a. m. ; Lieut. Fremont succeeded me un- 
 til 2 p. m. ; and Mr. Geyer had the rest of the day. It is from these 
 daily sketches that we protracted the map, after the courses and distances 
 had been corrected by the observed geographical positions. All the points 
 known by their latitudes and longitudes being laid down at first upon the 
 map, these points determine the spaces within which must necessarily 
 quadrate all the other points and details procured, directly or indirectly ; 
 and in relation to which, means of comparison and control always present 
 themselves naturally : thus assuring a sufficient exactitude for placing 
 points that may not have been actually observed. There remains, then, 
 nothing indeterminate but the form and dimensions of detail-objects, such 
 as lakes, the detours and sinuosities of rivers ; things of which we can 
 only come to have precise knowledge by systematic surveys, which it will 
 be the business of civilized men to establish in proportion as they people the 
 country. 
 
 It is easy, upon inspecting the map, to recognise those portions of which 
 a reconnoissance or a survey has been made, and such as have been laid 
 down from information merely. Use has been made of the public land 
 surveys, which have been liberally furnished us by the land offices, 
 wjierever they touched our ground, in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and 
 Iowa. With regard to the river surveys, which are our own work, I may 
 mention what follows. 
 
 The Missouri has been reconnoitred, with care, for a distance of 1,253 
 miles from its junction with the Mississippi, as far as Fort Pierre Chou- 
 teau. All its accidents, physical and geographical, which the scale of 
 the map allowed, have been there expressed. In respect to this, it is 
 much to be desired that the work giving account of the expedition of 
 Lewis and Clarke, now entirely out of print, could have a second edi- 
 tion. This work does not so much recommend itself by the exactness 
 of its survey and astronomical observations ; the authors made no pre- 
 tension of that kind ; but it may be considered as one of the greatest, 
 most difficult, and at the same time most happy geographical enterprises 
 that have ever been undertaken, which concerns the honor of the nation, 
 and which merits that of a second edition, by the truth, accuracy, and con- 
 ciseness of its descriptions. These descriptions, in my judgment and ex- 
 perience, will serve for comparisons useful to geography. They will even 
 come, hereafter, to be useful for the physical history of the mighty Mis- 
 souri ; the effects of which, in the valley it passes through, serve as a 
 standard in investigating the ros^inie of large rivers, and in perfecting the 
 hydrographic theory of their flow. If this step were taken, advantage 
 might also be had in correcting a number of errors, which detract from 
 the first edition, and to introduce an addition from the manuscripts of Gen- 
 eral Clarke, which I think were not consulted at the time. I know no 
 persons who could better be employed upon the publication of a second 
 edition than the sons of this distinguished and modest traveller, aided, if 
 necessary, by the general government. 
 
 The St. Peter's river received the first rectifications of its direction 
 from the second expedition of Major (now Lieutenant Colonel) Long. 
 
[ 237 ] 108 
 
 But Mr. W. W. Malher, late of tlie United States army, and at present one 
 of the geologists of the State of New York, was the first to institute a reg- 
 ular survey, when he accompanied Mr. G. \V. Featherstonhauoh in his 
 '= Geological Reminiscences" through the region of the great lakes, to the 
 CoteciU des Prairies. I have made (again assisted by Lieut. Fremont) sur- 
 veys of this same river, from its junction with the Mississippi up to its 
 sources; which are not, as was supposed, at the foot of the Coteau des 
 Prairies, but among a magnificent group of lakes upon the plateau, and at 
 the very head of the Coteau itself. 
 
 Tlie surveys of the rivers Des Moines and Wazi-oju were made, under 
 my directions, by Mr. Fi6mont ; those of the St. Croix by Messrs. Henry 
 R. Schoolcraft and Allen, (lieutenant U. S. A..) in 1S32, and by myself in 
 1837. 
 
 The reconnoissance of the Mississippi has been well executed by these 
 same gentlemen, in their expedition of 1832, from Itasca lake to Sandy 
 lake. 1 do net differ from them, so far as the details are perceptible on the 
 map, over this long route, except as regards the distance between the em- 
 bouchures of Leech Lake and Pagadewan rivers. This distance, which 
 they make to be at least ten miles, I have made only three miles. The 
 error, probably, is in the information given to these geographers ; they hav- 
 ing left the Mississippi at the entry of Pagadewan river, (or Lacrosse river,) 
 to get to lake Winibigoshish ; while 1 had the advantage of returning by 
 Leech Lake river, of visiting the junction of both rivers with the Missis- 
 sippi, and of taking an approximate position of the first of the two, before 
 encamping upon the point of the great savannah which the Chippeways call 
 Kichi bitohig. There remains still a short portion to the west of Pagadewan 
 river, which neither of us has explored. But a traveller cannot see every- 
 thing; he has often to yield to circumstances which he cannot influence or 
 control. 
 
 In point of fact, there are, in this northern part of the United States, 
 portions of country more unknown now than they were formerly. For ex- 
 ample : the districts watered by the Vermillion Lake river and St. Louis 
 river, were, from time immemorial, the way of communicating with the in- 
 terior as long as the Indian trade was in the hands of the French or the 
 British. But, since the United States have taken possession of the terri- 
 tory south of Rainy river, the intercourse between the Americans and the 
 British traders has entirely ceased. That small region is still a complete 
 wilderness,- very little known, and of difficult exploration. It is now laid 
 down from the best information that the Indians could furnish, or the sur- 
 veys for settling the north boundary could procure. The same may be said 
 of Otter-tail lake and the sources of the Red river of the North, that are in 
 a country formerly occupied by Indian traders, whom the turbulence of the 
 Chippeways has forced away. As it is still a permanent theatre of the wars 
 of these last with the Sioux, the guides to be procured from either of these 
 tribes refuse to conduct one thither, lest they themselves might fall in v/ith 
 enemies. 
 
 I have twice had opportunity of making surveys of the Mississippi 
 from Sandy lake down to St. Peter's, and thence to Prairie du Chien and 
 the Kipi saging, or ^^ obstructed mouth" (in allusion to the mouth of the 
 Wisconsin,) of the Chippeways, which is below this growing town. As 
 to the first portion, I find it very different from the representations given 
 in existing maps. I suppose that in this the geographers (my predeces- 
 
109 [ 237 ] 
 
 sors in this region) have preferred to be influenced by the latitudes given 
 by Major Pike, (which are very inexact, as I shall show hereafter,) rather 
 than to trust to their own experience. For instance: the distance from 
 St. Peter's to Sandy lake is generally adopted as from 500 to 600 miles : 
 it is by my surveys only 334 miles, viz : 180 miles from St. Peter's to 
 Kagiwigwa7i, or Crow-wing river, and 145 miles from this last to Sandy 
 lake. 
 
 Finally, in 1839 I made a reconnoissance of the Mississippi from Prairie 
 du Chien to the Lower or Des Moines Rapids. The remainder of this 
 river has been laid down from the public land surveys. 
 
 I might mention here, by the way, a fact very capable of modifying the 
 opinion of those who refuse still to believe in the prodigious progress 
 which civilization is making towards these distant and so little known re- 
 gions. When, in 1836, I ascended the Mississippi to explore its source, its 
 banks between the Lower Rapids and Prairie du Chien were almost des- 
 ert — some only of the principal towns of the present day were just coming, 
 as it were, out of the ground ; and when, at the close of 1837, I returned 
 to the eastern cities, 1 had only too much to answer those who asked my 
 opinion upon the many projects of speculation offered to the public, but 
 existing, as they said, only upon paper. Since that time I have had occa- 
 sion to devote two summers to the exploration of the regions contained be- 
 tween the Missouri and Mississippi ; and when, at the close of 1839, 1 de- 
 scended this last by canoe, to reconnoitre the portion between Prairie du 
 Chien and the Lower Rapids, I had to note in my field-book 37 towns, in 
 full development, upon the line where, two years before, there were not to 
 be seen the third part of this number. 
 
 I have entered into the preceding detail in order to do justice to the la- 
 bors of geographers who have preceded me. But I must say that, in the 
 map which 1 present, 1 have everywhere preferred surveys made by my- 
 self, or by my direction ; because they rest upon numerous astronomical 
 observations — an advantage which my predecessors had not. Those who 
 will take the trouble to compare this map with other existing ones, will, 
 doubtless, not fail to remark the important alterations which these observa- 
 tions have introduced and justified in the astronomical geography of the 
 vast region it exhibits. 
 
 Starting from Engineer Cantonment, the course of the Missouri is in- 
 clined more to the northwest ; the Great Bend, instead of being turned to 
 the east, faces the north ; and of all the embouchures of its tributaries, 
 some are lower, and others a great deal higher in latitude than was formerly- 
 supposed. 
 
 The geographical position of Mini-ioakaiu or DcviVs lake, is also much 
 changed. This lake is invested with hills, and is perfectly isolated; it is 
 not, therefore, the source of several rivers falling into the Red river of the 
 IVorth, as drawn upon some maps; though, in times oi overflow, its waters 
 pass over a depression in the tjround, and run into the Sliayenoju. river. 
 It is the same way with the Mississippi: starting from the Falls of St. An- 
 thony upwards, all the river mouths bear too much to the west, and are too 
 low in latitude; and even its sources were placed more than three-quarters 
 of a degree too far to the wesf. Upon this line there is one important 
 mouth, the erroneous position of which has. till now, created jrreat disorder 
 in the geography of this region — I mean the niouth of the Kagiwigwan, 
 or Crow-wing river, the latitude of which, as given by Major Pike, is 27 
 minutes short. 
 
[237] no 
 
 All these circumstances tended, in a singular manner, to contract the ex- 
 tensive region between the Mississippi and the iVlissouri ; so that there was 
 not (so to speak) room for the intermediate territories which 1 had explored. 
 But my astronomical observations have, throughout, restored order. The 
 Missouri being thrown over to the west, and the Mississippi to the east, 
 while, at the same time, the latitudes are generally increased, each interme- 
 diate country has found its natural place. 
 
 In fine, the Mississippi may be said to be now well known, I give, in 
 the Table ot Geographical Positions, already referred to, the numerous po- 
 sitions by which u is determined ; not that the lower part enters into my 
 map, but because these positions form a complete system in regard to this 
 majestic river — one of the most magnificent in the world, and even also 
 now one of those whose course is astronomically the best determined from 
 its embouchures to its very source. 
 
 I return now, in relation to the m.ap, to the problem of the longitudes ; 
 which here, as everywhere else on the earth, demands numerous observa- 
 tions, against which a war-cry will continually be heard among geogra- 
 phers, as long as in their works of exploration they are restricted to chro- 
 nometric methods, lunar distances, eclipses, and other phenomena of rare 
 occurrence, without being provided with the ample means which science 
 can indicate, but cannot furnish, except when national governments con- 
 tribute by an allowance of both time and funds. In this aspect, I look upon 
 it as my duly to expose here the elements which have served in the deter- 
 mination of the principal longitudes of my map; so that observers who 
 may follow me over the ground it covers, may know where to direct their 
 efforts for improving these first results. 
 
 When the calculations of the astronomical observations in which we 
 were engaged were a little advanced, I detached Lieutenant Fremont to 
 commence the construction of the map — charging myself with the calcu- 
 lation of the remaining observations, the long and tedious discussion of the 
 longitudes, and the computation of the meteorological observations which 
 I had brought together for determining the altitudes of the stations above 
 the sea. 
 
 It was necessary for us, in the outset, to have some positive meridians 
 as well known as possible. In this regard, 1 had been fortunate enough to 
 have observed some occultations of fixed stars, and also the solar eclipse of 
 the 18lh of September, 1838. The reverend Mr. Verot had the kindness 
 to make for me the calculation. But at this period I had not been able to 
 procure the particulars of corresponding observations, nor the errors of the 
 tables as to the epochs of these phenomena. I was obliged, therefore, to 
 employ the elements for the calculations as they were given in the Nautical 
 Almanac. However, as the results could not be so much in error as to affect 
 sensibly the exactness of the construction of the map, I did not hesitate to 
 adopt them for the concurrent determination of the longitudes, which I 
 especially wanted. 
 
 At a later period I had the pleasure to make acquaintance with Mr. S. 
 C. Walker, of Philadelphia, a distinguished astronomer, whose zeal and 
 industry are efficaciously contributing to the progress of astronomy in 
 the United Slates. Mr. Walker had taken the pains to form an extensive 
 catalogue of all important astronomical phenomena which have been ob- 
 served at different times in North America. He has progressed far in 
 the discussion and the reduction of the observations upon occultations 
 
Ill [237] 
 
 and solar eclipses; and we may be assured that, if Mr. Walker (hitherto 
 without public encouragement in the science which he cultivates with such 
 predilection) could be placed in a position to finish the considerable task he 
 has undertaken, it would result in honor to the country, a large and useful 
 contribution to science, and numerous elements of advancement for astro- 
 nomical geography on this continent. On another hand, Professor E. O. 
 Kendall has computed the co-ordinates of the solar eclipse of the 18th of 
 September, 1S3S ; and, as he himself remarks, '' The reduction of future 
 observations of solar eclipses will be much facilitated by the publication of 
 these CO ordinates in the Berlin Jahorbuch since 1839." 
 
 Having communicated my observations to these gentlemen, they at once 
 distributed between themselves the task of their comparison and reduction, 
 by applying the errors of the tables. I consider myself, then, as indebted 
 to them, not only for having saved me from long calculations, but still more, 
 that from the care which they have taken to verify their respective com- 
 putations, the results they have deduced offer, for their correctness, a double 
 security. 
 
 The following table exhibits the reductions respecting my observations, 
 and those with which they have been compared : 
 
[ 237 ] 
 
 112 
 
 CQ 
 
 1 
 
 00 i^ 00"^ 
 
 O -^ CO >^ to CQ 
 
 to 
 
 
 (N O — ' O 
 
 •-£3 O •>' CO »0 t^ 
 
 00 
 
 
 © OJ OOCN 
 
 •^ t-; 00 00 O -H 
 
 -^ 
 
 
 C<J W CQ CQ 
 
 1-^ I— 1 1-H — — < CQ 
 
 CQ 
 
 
 + 1+1 
 
 1 +++++ 
 
 + 
 
 
 C kO O CO 
 
 t- CO -- -^ "^ 00 
 
 •^ 
 
 
 00 -- CQ ro 
 
 OJ O -^ t^ CO o 
 
 to 
 
 
 CO r-* t- o 
 
 O CO t^ t^ to to 
 
 "^ 
 
 -Ci 
 
 c5 o o o 
 
 d d o o o ^ 
 
 <-^ 
 
 
 1 1 1 1 
 
 + 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 O -^ 00 "^ 
 
 to to to to OD 00 
 
 <x> 
 
 
 OJ o o o 
 
 •o o to o o o 
 
 »M 
 
 
 O CQ CQ GQ 
 
 VO '-C O O to to 
 
 o 
 
 e 
 
 ^oi CQ c<i 
 
 
 CQ 
 
 
 ++++ 
 
 ++++++ 
 
 + 
 
 •- — "o 
 
 C7S to cr. I- 
 
 — ' to to '-D Oi CQ 
 
 «x 
 
 Mi 5^ 
 
 5^ Ol C5 O r-^ 
 
 O t- QD -X" -O (?) 
 
 o> 
 
 o t: ^ 
 
 o 00 ifi — ^ 
 
 to CO d to -^ i>^ 
 
 d 
 
 
 ^ o »o »a 
 
 CQ to ^ -^ to -- 
 
 CQ 
 
 , 4) - 
 
 ~ W5 ^CQ CO M 
 
 •X> to X' O O «>!!* 
 
 rf 
 
 = C J; _ 
 
 S CQ r-( 
 
 CO 0< "«3* 
 
 
 "5^ 1 
 
 .00^00 
 
 O to to to O 'sf 
 
 X> 
 
 I/: "O^ ^ 
 
 0) s y re 
 
 "^ 1 1 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 M 1 
 
 1 
 
 j^-. a.- 
 
 1 1 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 
 lime 
 
 un. 
 
 (X) to t^ CQ 
 
 O b- o ^ o o 
 
 "^ 
 
 0^ CQ 00 i- CQ 
 
 to '-£> "^ .— 1 b- "^ 
 
 O 
 
 C — 
 
 t^ o '-6 oi 
 
 to -i t-' d -^ b-^ 
 
 b-^ 
 
 i ? 
 
 — 1^ 
 
 CO CQ ^ CQ -^ CQ 
 
 
 s^ 
 
 ~: CO QO CO o 
 
 Ci C^l O O CQ O 
 
 o 
 
 -■s 
 
 S -^ r- to -^ 
 
 ■^ CQ CO ■" -^ 
 
 "^ 
 
 3=" 
 
 . o ■<* ^ "^ 
 
 to lO 'X) to XI t^ 
 
 to 
 
 -5: — 
 
 — 1 — . ^ ^ 
 
 1-H 
 
 
 
 'fc^ ^% 73 ^^ ^^ 
 
 >. 
 
 
 ^iS 
 
 =3 g xj % -;-' 
 
 o 
 
 5 
 
 5 -H o a-> 
 
 O w c •- > 
 
 
 o 
 
 "^ ^ o o 
 
 W {« ^ 03 »- 
 
 rt 
 
 1 
 
 cr' 2 a S 
 
 g 03 O O c "5 
 
 > 
 
 S-i 
 03 
 
 1 
 
 O S 'w 'w 
 
 „-Q S.5S 
 
 .o 
 
 o 
 
 "Ss ffl © p 
 
 ^ '^ o ^ ^ «r; 
 
 O 
 
 (-4 
 
 o 
 w 
 
 g^ ci 73 M 
 
 Qj a in <D 
 
 ^ CO J3 X3 
 
 
 "oj 
 
 X3 
 
 S 
 
 T3 *- 03 O 
 
 .«^ ^ w .rH 3-H 
 
 03 
 
 
 C3.-l.0 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 w ts S ' 
 
 ...... 
 
 .- 
 
 
 
 
 sZ 
 
 
 .5 S ''p'^ 
 
 
 5 
 
 s 
 
 . -. no 
 
 'C 't^ 'fc^ uJ 'C 'kH 
 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 03 ec rt cC ffi rt 
 
 'Hb 
 
 B 
 
 23 
 
 E-' E^ E-< E-i B" c-i 
 
 CO 
 
 in 
 
 o 
 
 — CO 
 
 
 
 s 
 o 
 
 k- K- S- S- K- K- 
 
 e 
 
 
 
 c S d c" d o" 
 
 1 SCQQQ 
 
 a 
 
 
 J© 
 
 HH 
 
 
 O 00 ocoo 
 
 CO — —'.'—" 
 
 •sD -Xi «£> 'X* O O 
 
 to 
 
 
 CQ CQ 
 
 
 
 •^ ^ '%^ 
 
 Sx Va 
 
 
 OS 
 
 rA C3 O 03 
 
 00 c i: £ 
 
 --* Oj 03 »J 
 30 S S CO 
 
 1— ' -, O 03 03 
 
 -— 1 Ql flj >-H n. 
 
 
 03 Z. .w «^ 
 
 = Cu &, c- 
 
 ^. i;-._>. >> > > 
 
 
 
 — 03 03 03 
 
 1-5 72 02 72 
 
 ~ s s "^ ® J-' 
 
 •-4 '-J •-» 1-^ I?H 2^ 
 
 •-i 
 
113 
 
 [237] 
 
 In the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, (No. 5, vol. 1, 
 p. 231,) are to be found the positions of several American places of observa- 
 tion liirnished by Messrs. Walker and Kendall. The following are here in- 
 troduced, as stations of comparison : 
 
 TABLE II. 
 
 Places. 
 
 Hudson observatory, Ohio 
 Wai^hington Ciiy observatory, D. C. - 
 Philadelpliia High School observ'y, Pa. 
 Dorches-ter, Mass. - . . 
 
 Observers. 
 
 Professor Loom is 
 Lieul.Giilit^, U. S. N. - 
 Professor Kendall 
 IMr. Boud,(privateobs'y) 
 
 North lati- 
 tudes. 
 
 410 14' 37" 
 
 38 53 31 
 
 39 57 8 
 42 19 15 
 
 West of 
 Greenwich 
 longitudes. 
 
 h. m. 
 5 25 
 
 47.46 
 
 6.08 
 
 41.90 
 
 17.81 
 
 The method used in making the rednctions is that of Bessel, given in the 
 Astronom. Nachricht, No. 321. The sun's semi-diameter there given has 
 been employed ; the other elements are taken from the Nautical Almanac. 
 Bessel's semi-diameter of the sun is less than that in the Nautical Almanac 
 by ]".112. The ellipticityof the earth is assumed at 0.00324. Then, after 
 Bessel, we have 
 
 Wherein 
 d = corrected longitude-}- when east, — when west of Greenwich. 
 c/'= resulting longitude, not corrected for the errors of the tables. 
 ( = the correction of the tabular place of the moon on its true orbit. 
 ^ = [he correction of the tabular place of the moon on a perpendicular 
 
 to its orbit. 
 9j =the correction of the tabular sum of the semi-diameters of the sun 
 
 and moon, in the case of a solar eclipse ; or, merely the correction 
 
 for this error of the moon's semi diameter in the case of a star's 
 
 occultation. 
 
 With these elements and co ordinates, the values of </', and the co-efficients- 
 a, 6, c, have been computed as given in the above table. 
 
 With these preliminary remarks, 1 shall proceed to indicate in what man- 
 ner the corrected longitude has been deduced for each place, where the errors 
 of the tables and corresponding observations could be procured ; and to 
 show, at the same time, in what manner these longitudes have concurred 
 with other deductions to a final and adopted value, for the longitude of such 
 place. 
 
 But, it must be remarked, that, in combining several partial results, with 
 the view of obtaining the final longitude, I have not paid any regard to what 
 is called the due weight of each observation ; satisfying myself with taking 
 the arithmetical mean of all the partial results. Indeed, in most of the cases, 
 1 should be at a loss how to determine such a proper weight. I therefore 
 leave to everybody the care of doing, in that respect, what they may think 
 the besti 
 
 8 
 
[ 237 ] 114 
 
 I. RED PIPESTONE QUARRY. 
 
 For the occultation of o Virg-inh, observed at this place, I am not abfe 
 10 find any corresponding observations. I have therefore to take the re- 
 sulting longitude, as given in the preceding Table I, uncorrected. We 
 have, then, 
 
 Longitude deduced from the occultation - 
 
 Longitude by 4 sets, or 60 lunar distances, east and west 5 
 
 h. m. 
 
 s. 
 
 6 25 
 
 10.99 
 
 6 25 
 
 24.50 
 
 Mean - . 6 25 17.74 
 
 Longitude in are - 96° 19' 26'M 
 
 II. COTEAU DU MISSOURI — ENCAMPMENT 6tH JULY, 1839, ON WESTERN 
 
 SLOPE. 
 
 The Table I shows that the occultation of rj Tauri, observed here, may 
 be compared with corresponding observations of the same star, made at 
 three different places in the United States. 
 
 In a recent number of the Astronom. Nachrieht, Bessel gives the cor- 
 rection of the right ascension and declination of »? Tauri, as used in the 
 Nautical Almanac, viz: aAH = 0".9 m arc, and A D = — 2".5 in arc; 
 whence *' = + l".460 and T = + 2".617. 
 
 Using the longitudes of the stations of comparison, as given above, and 
 applying the corrections at' and b f' in the formula (A), we have 
 
 Longitude by comparison with Hudson observatory 
 
 with Washington city 
 with Philadelphia 
 
 Mean 
 
 Longitude in arc 
 
 III. ST. LOUIS — THE CATHEDRAL. 
 
 For the occultation of »? Tauri, observed here on 20th November, 1839, 
 we have to use the corrections of the star's place, as at the preceding station. 
 We find, besides, by the Greenwich observations of the same day, for the 
 corrections of the moon's right ascension and declination — 
 
 A A1 = — 6".6 in arc : and A D = — 4".65 in arc, when ( = — 7'.014 
 and ?== — 2".956. 
 
 There is but one place of comparison — Dorchester, Massachusetts, at 
 Mr. Bond's private observatory. Applying, then, the values a«', a (« -|- «') 
 and b V, 6, (t + r,) we find : 
 
 h. m. s. 
 Xongitudeby comparison with Dorchester observatory - 6 52.73 
 
 with Greenwich meridian obs'y - 6 55.60 
 
 Mean - - - - 6 54.16 
 
 h. 
 
 m. 
 
 s. 
 
 6 
 
 36 
 
 17.70 
 
 6 
 
 36 
 
 18.23 
 
 6 
 
 36 
 
 19.15 
 
 6 
 
 36 
 
 15.36 
 
 99 
 
 o 4' 
 
 35".4 
 
115 [ 237 ] 
 
 Mr. Walker thinks the first of these results as likely to be correct as 
 Ihe second, on account of the uncertainty whether the value of»?=-j-3" 
 used by Mr. Airy in reducing the Greenwich observations, applies to occuU 
 tations, for which Burckhardt's semi-diameter is, perhaps, better adapted. 
 In this instance, however, the mean of the two naturally presents itself for 
 acceptance. We have, then, in fine — 
 
 h. 
 Mean longitude from the occultalion - - - 6 
 
 Chronometric longitude deduced from Baltimore - - 6 
 
 Mean of 15 sets, or 224 lunar distances E. and W. 3 - 6 
 
 n. 
 
 s. 
 
 
 
 54.16 
 
 
 
 56.72 
 
 
 
 71.15 
 
 Mean - - - - 6 1 0.68 
 
 Longitude in arc - - - 90«> 15' 10".2 
 
 IV. TI TANKA-TANNINAN LAKE — EAST SHORE. 
 
 For the observation of the end of the solar eclipse, made here on the 18th 
 «f September, 1838, I was supplied with a telescope of Dolland, having a 
 magnifying power of about 120. 
 
 By Professor Kendall's memoir on the longitude of several places in the 
 United States, deduced from observations of this same eclipse, we see that, 
 rising his co-ordinates, computed after the method of Bessel, viz: 
 
 * = — 14".782 
 ^ = — 7".310 
 ,7 = 4- 3". 198 
 
 These valuiis, with their corresponding co-efficients in Table I, applied, 
 give, for the longitude of Ti-tanka-tanninan - - 6A. 13m. 23.56*. 
 
 Longitude in arc - - 93° 20' 53".4 
 
 V. GOEBEL S RESIDENCE, NEAR NEWPORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI. 
 
 1. Mr. David W. Goebel, from Coburg, Germany, well acquainted with 
 practical astronomy, and supplied with a Hadley's sextant, a good clock, 
 and a telescope having a magnifying power of about forty times, has been 
 kind enough, at my request, to observe for the solar eclipse of the 18th of 
 September, 1838. The authentic data of the observations are as follows: 
 
 Beginning at 1/u 59m. 13.35., true time of the place. 
 Ending at 4 46 41.2 do, do. 
 
 The conversion of this time into mean time, gives (he date of the ob- 
 servation as represented in Table 1. Now, introducing into the formula 
 (A) the values of f, ?, and ^, employed for th« preceding station, together 
 with the corresponding co-efficients, «, 6, and c, in Table I, we derive for 
 ^he longitude of Goebel's residence — 
 
 h. m, s. 
 By beginning of eclipse - - - 6 4 30.41 
 £nd 6 4 16.45 
 
 Mean - - - 6 4 23.43 
 
[237] 116 
 
 In his commiinication to me, Mr. Goebel states that the end of the 
 eclipse could not be observed quite as well as the beginning, owing to a 
 small twig only observable through the telescope, which came right be- 
 tween the snn and the instrument at the critical moment. Still, he is 
 satisfied that the time of the observation comes within five seconds of the 
 utmost accuracy. Unwilling to assume, myself, any corrections in reference 
 to this accidental error, and considermg the nature and difficulty of the 
 sort of observation, I feel disposed to regard both epochs, of beginning and 
 end, as equally good, and the mean above taken as not far from the trnth. 
 
 1 may remark, with Mr. Walker, that the low power used by Mr. Goe- 
 bel will give a diminished semi diameter, requiring a value for »; of only 
 +0".l47, instead of 4-3'M98. 
 
 2. Mr. Goebel has also observed the occultation of * Sagittarii by the 
 moon on the 5th of June, 1841, at \5h. 40m. 7.945. mean time. No cor- 
 responding observations have been found : the result, therefore, stands 
 uncorrected for the errors of the tables. It gives, according to the reduc- 
 tion by Mr. Walker, longitude of Goebel^s residence 6h. 4tm. 26.96s. 
 
 3. Mr. Goebel has further derived, from observation of 4 emersions and 
 2 immersions of tlie first satellite of Jupiter, a longitude of 6A. Am. 35.52s. 
 
 Combining these three several deductions for a mean result, we have — 
 
 h. m. s. 
 
 Longitude by eclipse of the snn - - - 6 4 23.43 
 
 Longitude by occultation of ff Sagittarii - - 6 4 26.96 
 
 Longitude by satellite of Jupiter "- - - 6 4 35.52 
 
 Mean - - - 6 4 28.64 
 
 Longitu<3e in arc - - 91° 7' 9^6 
 
 I pass, now, to some places where there has been no opportunity of ob- 
 serving occultations or an eclipse, but whose longitude has been determined 
 by lunar distances ; or chronometrieally, by comparison with the preceding 
 stations. 
 
 VI. ST. Peter's — ikbian agency near fort snelling. 
 
 Entrance of the St. Peter's river, called Mdota-niini sotah by the Sioux. 
 
 h. m. s. 
 
 L Longitude, the mean of 10 sets of observations, or 198 
 lunar distances E. and VV. 3 
 
 2. Chronometric longitudes, deduced from the eclipse of 
 
 the sun, observed at Ti-tanka-tanninan lake 
 
 3. Chronometric longitude, deduced from the occultation 
 
 of a Virginis, observed at Red Pipestone Q^uarry - 
 
 4. Chronometric longitude, inferred from St. Louis 
 
 Mean .... 
 
 Longitude in arc - ^ - 
 
 6 12 
 
 ia.6 
 
 6 12 
 
 2ft.6 
 
 6 12 
 6 12 
 
 1&.8 
 21.3 
 
 6 12 
 
 19.58 
 
 93° 4' 
 
 53".7 
 
117 [237] 
 
 Vtl. PRAIRIE DU CHIEN AMERICAN FUR COMPANY'S HOUSE. 
 
 h. in. S. 
 
 1. Longitude, the mean of 3 sets, or 34 lunar distances 
 
 E.and W. j> • - . .64 36.57 
 
 2. Chronometric longitude, inferred from St. Louis - 6 4 42.84 
 
 3. Chronometric longitude, inferred from St. Peter's - 6 4 27.25 
 
 Mean - - - - 6 4 35.5t 
 
 Lonffilude in arc - - - 93° 5' 53".25 
 
 Vm. TRAVERSE DES SIOUX AMERICAN FUR COMPANY S HOUSE. 
 
 h. m, s. 
 
 1. Longitude, the mean of 3 sets, or 36 distances from 
 
 the moon to the sun - - - - 6 15 51.73 
 
 2. Chronometric longitude, inferred from St. Peter's - 6 15 45.10 
 
 3. Chronometric longitude, deduced from the occullation 
 
 of a Virgi?iis, dit the Red Pipestone Quarry - - 6 15 55.57 
 
 Mean - - - - 6 15 50.80 
 
 Longitude in arc - - - 93° 57' 42".0 
 
 IX. MOUTH OF SANDY LAKE RIVER — AMERICAN FUR COMPANY S HOUSE. 
 
 h. m. S. 
 
 1. Longitude, mean of 2 sets, or 23 distances from the 
 
 moon to the sun, taken in the morning - - 6 12 48.S 
 
 2. Mean of 2 sets, or 25 distances from the moon to the 
 
 sun, taken in the afternoon - - - - 6 12 28.2 
 
 Mean - - - - 6 12 38.0 
 
 Longitude in arc - - - 93° 9' 37".5 
 
 x. sources op the mississippi river station at itasca lake, 
 
 Schoolcraft's island. 
 
 h. m. s. 
 
 1. Longitude, mean of 2 sets, or 24 lunar distances E. of 
 
 the moon - - - - - - 6 20 22.15 
 
 2. Mean of 2 sets, or 24 lunar distances W, of the moon, 
 
 taken on the same evening: with the former - - 6 19 53.60 
 
 Mean - - - - 6 20 7.87 
 
 Longitude in arc ... 95° 1' 58".0 
 
[237] 118 
 
 XI. HUPPAN-KUTEY PRAIRIE — AMERICAN FUR COMPANY'S HOUSE. 
 
 h. m. S. 
 
 1. Longitude, mean of 8 sets, or 76 lunar distances E. 
 
 and W. J) 6 26 56.72 
 
 2. Chronometric longitude, inferred from station near 
 
 Engineer Cantonment - - - - 6 26 38.00 
 
 Mean - - - - 6 26 47.36 
 
 Lonsitude in arc - - - 96° 41' 50".4 
 
 XII. WINI-WAKAN LAKE, OR DEVIL's LAKE SECOND OR MIDDLE STATION 
 
 ON SOUTH SHORE, MARKED ON THE MAP. 
 
 h. m. S. 
 
 1. Longitude, mean of 8 sets, or 87 distances from the 
 
 sun to the moon - - - - - 6 33 58. IS 
 
 2. Chronometric longitude, deduced from the occulta- 
 
 tion at the Coteau du Missouri - - - 6 33 45.26 
 
 Mean - - - - 6 33 51.72 
 
 Longitude in arc - - - 98° 27' 55".8 
 
 XIII AND XIV. ENGINEER CANTONMENT, AND ASTRONOMICAL STATION 
 BETWEEN ENGINEER CANTONMENT AND COUNCIL BLUFFS. 
 
 In the account of an expedition from Pittsburg to the Rocky Mountains, 
 under the command of Major Stephen H. Long, United States topojrraphi- 
 cal engineers, we find a table of latitude and longitude observed at different 
 points of the country explored by the expedition. One of the geographical 
 positions thus given is particularly interesting to me, because it comes with- 
 in the field of my labors, and because it was carefully determined during 
 the period spent at it — I mean Engineer Cantonment, a few miles below 
 Council Blufls. 
 
 According to the statement given in the second Volume of the work re- 
 ferred to by my friend, J. D. Graham, at the time lieutenant United States 
 artillery, and now major United States topog:raphical engineers, the resulting 
 longitude deduced from the astronomical observations made in the winter 
 of 1819-'20, is— 
 
 Moan of 5 sets of lunar distances, and 3 emersions of Jupiter's satellites, 
 95° 43' 53". 
 
 The other astronomical station mentioned in the caption afforded me 
 the opportunity of verifying both its longitude and the daily rate of my 
 chronometer. 
 
 I could not land immediately at Engineer Cantonment, owing to the 
 washing away on the eastern bank of the Missouri river, which has for 
 som(! years lelt inland lo the western side the former station. But, for- 
 tunatftly for me, many sand-bars compelled our steamboat to lie by for a 
 day and two nights. We encamped, ilierefore, on an island which occurs 
 
119 [237 J 
 
 in ihe Great Eastern Bend, about six miles above Engineer Cantonment^ 
 and three below Council Bluffs, by water. According to Lieutenant Fre- 
 mont's reconnoissance, the island is two or three miles west of the meridiaa 
 of Engineer Cantonment. 
 
 The daily rate of the chronometer, ascertained as well as could be, in 
 two successive nights, and proving very nearly the same as at St. Louis, 
 we have for the longitude of the island, as inferred from St. Louis, 95*^ 
 45' 30". 
 
 When we consider the respective positions of the island, and of Engi- 
 neer Cantonment, the longitudes of the two places accord sufficiently to 
 induce the belief that the error which may still affect ihem is so small as to 
 be of very little consequence in geographical purposes. 
 
 XV. FORT CHARLOTTE — OLD AMERICAN TRAniNG-HOUSE — NORTHWEST 
 company's coast of lake superior, at THE WEST END OF THE 
 GRAND PORTAGE. 
 
 My friend Mr. James Ferguson, the astronomer of the American com- 
 mission for determining the northern boundaries, and now one of the princi- 
 pal assistants in the coast survey under the superintendence of Mr. Hassler, 
 who has furnished me with valuable information in regard to this section 
 of country, has observed at this place the solar eclipse of the 26ih of June, 
 1824. He has communicated to ine the data and conclusions of his obser- 
 vation, which was with a telescope of 2^ feet focal length, having a mag- 
 nifying power of about 60 times. The data are as follows : 
 
 June 26, 1824. Beginning of the eclipse at 6/i. 7m. Is., p. m. mean time. 
 End - - - 7 13 19.2 do. do. 
 
 The result of the calculation, without referring to corresponding obser- 
 vations, or correcting for the errors of the tables, gives for the longitude 
 89° 59' 31". 
 
 XVI. FORT WILLIAM, AT THE ENTRANCE OF KAMINISTiaUIA RIVER, NORTH- 
 
 WEST COAST OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 
 
 Longitude from Sir J. Franklin's second expedition, ap- 
 pendix Table I - - - - - - 89° 16' 30" 
 
 From the commission for settling the boundary, appendix 
 
 cxxx - - - - - - - 89 22 40 
 
 From the solar eclipse at Fort unarlotte by Mr. Ferguson • 89 20 18 
 
 Mean longitude in arc - - - 89 19 49.3 
 
 From Sir J, Franklin's second expedition, nbi supra • 48° 23' 40" 
 
 By Mr. Ferguson, mean of 35 sets of observations - 48 23 11 
 
 Mr. J. E. Colhoun — Major Long's expedition - - 48 23 33 
 
 Mean latitude - - - - 48 23 28 
 
 XVII. DELTA OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 
 
 An important work, ordered by Congress, in relation to the improve- 
 ment of the navigation of the mouth of the Mississippi, was executed in 
 1838 and 1839, under the direction of Captain A. Talcott. A triangula- 
 
[ 237 ] 120 
 
 tion, from a base of about two miles in length, has been spread over the 
 lower delta. The latitude of a point designated as the astronomical sta- 
 tion, has been determined by 157 observations upon 22 fixed stars selected 
 for the purpose. The difference of zenith distance of those stars, by pairs, 
 was measured directly by a spider-line micrometer, applied to a 42 inch 
 altitude and azimuth telescupe, niade by Troughton and Simms. In addi- 
 tion, a series of observations was made for determining the longitude, by 
 Observing the transit of the moon, and such stars as are given in the Nauti- 
 cal Almanac under the head of nioo?i cul/mnatin^c sta7's ; and such other 
 observations on high and low stars as would furnish data for correcting all in- 
 strumental errors. 
 
 The position of the astronomical station on Balize bayou, Northeast Pass, 
 is concluded to be in latitude 29^ 7' 4".59 north, longitude 89° 4' 32".57 
 west of Greenwich. 
 
 From this point. Captain Talcott has deduced the positions of all the im- 
 portant points embraced in his survey; and it is from the unpublished ac- 
 count of his valuable work that 1 have been allowed to select the results 
 for the main passes of the mouth of the Mississippi, which are introduced 
 in the Table of Geographical Positions. 
 
 XVIII. NEW ORLEANS — THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL. 
 
 The longitude of this place has been variously staled in the course of 
 the past half century. In the Connaissance des Terns from 1793 to 1829, 
 inclusive, it is given, under the authority of the French academicians, at oh. 
 59w. 53.5s. west of Greenwich. 
 
 In England, the useful Requisite Tables make it to be 5A. 59m. 55*. 
 
 Don Jose Joachim de Ferrer, in his valuable list of geographical posi- 
 tions, published in the Connaissance des Terns for 1817, increases this lon- 
 gitude to 6/i. Qm. 2\s. 
 
 Since that period, this last longitude has superseded the first two above 
 quoted, with the exception that some slight changes have been introduced, 
 from time to time, by different aiuhorities ; such as the Connaissance des 
 Terns from 1830 to 1843, inclusive, and the American Almanac for the same 
 period. In theabsenceof the data upon which these various results have been 
 founded, it would be ditficult for me even to have an opinion as to which 
 should be adopted, were it not that the work of Captain Talcott, spoken of 
 in the last article, affords me, in connexiou with what I had before myself 
 the means of offering, some new data for the discussion of this interesting 
 question. 
 
 In the latter part of May, 1835. I spent three days at the Pilot house on 
 the east bayou of the Southwest Pass. I made the latitude of that place 
 = 29° 59' 34", and the difference of longitude east of the Cathedral of New 
 Orleans = 2m,. 4.5s. 
 
 Taking the absolute longitude of the same station as determined by Cap- 
 tain Talcott, and combining it with my observed difference, we have longi- 
 tude of New Orleans Cathedral (5h. ()/«. Is. 
 
 In January, 1840, Major J. D. Graham, of the United States topograph- 
 ical engineers, on his way to the Sabine river, to survey the boundary 
 between the United States and Texas, observed the difference of longi- 
 tude between New Orleans and one of Captain Talcott's stations — the new 
 Southwest Pass light-house. He was supplied with three chronometers j 
 
121 [ 237 ] 
 
 upon one of which, in particular, he could place great reliance. He had 
 not the opportimity of observing, himself, for the time, at New Orleans ; 
 but adopted it as furnished to him by Mr. Lelley, who rates and regulates 
 chronometers habitually, and who is provided with a transit instrument for 
 the purpose. The difference between the two places he found to be, by the 
 means of the three chronometers. 2tn. 26.35., which, combmed with the 
 longitude of the liglit-house station, as determined by Capt. Talcott, gives 
 for the longitude of New Orleans Cathedral 5/i. 59w. 52.15. 
 
 Mr. Edmund Blunt, now one of the principal assistants in the coast sur- 
 vey of the United States, has also furnished me, in this regard, with the re- 
 sults of the observation of two chronometers which have been used in 25 
 voyages between New Orleans and Brooklyn. The mean of the three dif- 
 ferent methods of rating, habitual among those who regulate marine chro- 
 nometers, has been taken for the difference of time between the two places. 
 The longitude of Brooklyn has been given directly by chronometers trans- 
 ported there from Greenwich, on board the steamer British Q,ueen, during 
 three trips of that vessel ; the mean of which has been taken, and the same 
 longitude, to little more than 1", has been given by direct comparison with 
 the City Hall of New York, whose longitude has been determined by the 
 solar eclipses of May, 1836, and September, 1838. The mean of those two 
 comparisons has been taken by nie as the longitude of Brooklyn ; and the 
 combination of this with the mean of the chronometers, as above said, has 
 given for the longitude of New Orleans Cathedral 5/i. 59ni. 59.665. 
 
 These later results come quite near to the earlier ones of the French 
 academicians and of the Requisite Tables, to which, of course, we must 
 allow proportionate weight, and seem almost to confirm them. Now, 1 do 
 not mean to say that Ferrer's longitude, or that given by Mr R. T. Paine 
 in the American Almanac, is too great by 20 or 24 seconds : it is repugnant 
 to decline the authority of such zealous and intelligent observers; and I by 
 no means intend that what I at present offer is to be taken as decisive of a 
 question which, for settlement, would demand a fuller and more minute in- 
 vestigation than is suitable here. But, bein^ obliged to adopt a longitude 
 for insertion in the Table of Geographical Positions, I have taken it as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 h. 
 
 Longitude stated by the French academicians - - 5 
 
 Requisite Tables - - 5 
 
 Chronometer comparisons of Majop Graham - - 5 
 
 from Mr. Blunt - - 5 
 
 of 1. N. Nicollet - - 6 
 
 m. 
 
 s. 
 
 59 
 
 53.5 
 
 59 
 
 55.0 
 
 59 
 
 52.1 
 
 59 
 
 59.66 
 
 
 
 1.0 
 
 And the mean longitude of New Orleans Cathedral - 5 59 56.25 
 
 Longitude in arc - - - 89«> 59' 3".75 
 
 It is to be hoped that future geographers will avail themselves of oppor- 
 tunities that may be afforded them in visiting this point, to contribute to 
 the clearing up of the discrepancy yet existing, and to the determination of 
 the absolute longitude of this important place. 
 
 1. N. NICOLLET. 
 
 Baltimore, February 25, 1843. 
 
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143 [ 237 ] 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 Catalogue of plants collected by Mr. Charles Geyer, under the direction 
 of Mr. I. N. Nicollet, during his exploration of the region between the 
 Mississippi and Missouri rivers : By Professor John Torrey, M. D. 
 
 The country over which this collection of plants has been made, is de- 
 scribed by Mr. Nicollet, in the report that accompanies his map. It lies 
 between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, embracing two extensive 
 tracts : — 
 
 1. The Coteau des Prairies, and the Mississippi and the Missouri val- 
 leys; consisting of prairies throughout, interspersed with woods and lakes, 
 and the soil of which is alternately sandy, gravelly, or clayey, in the 
 character of an erratic deposite. Its elevation above the sea is from 1,000 
 to 2,000 feet, and it extends from the 39th to beyond the 48th degree of 
 north latitude. 
 
 3. The extensive basin of the riviere Jacques, or Tchansan-san river of 
 the Sioux, and the prolongation of the Coteau des Prairies, north of the 
 Shayen-oju that empties into the Red river of the North. The basin of the 
 riviere Jacques is a vast prairie, situated between the Coteau des Prairies 
 and the Coteau du Missouri, and is from sixty to eighty miles west of the 
 former. It is sparingly wooded, and its level above the sea is from 1,200 
 to 1,400 feet, or nearly 600 feet lower than the twoCoteaux between which 
 it lies. The northeastern portion is a region of salinas, including the great 
 salt lake called Mini-wakan, or Devil's lake, together with all the head- 
 waters of the rivers that empty into the Red river of the North, on its west 
 side. The soil is sandy in every part, and the timber is found only along 
 the water-courses and borders of the lakes. 
 
 It is well to remark, that there are two Shayen rivers — one emptying in- 
 to the Red river of the North, and properly named Shayen-oju; the other 
 pouring its waters into the Missouri a little below the 45th degree, and is 
 called by the French, without any adjunct, Shayen river. It is the Wash- 
 tey, or Good river of the Sionx. But, in reference to the habitale of the 
 plants mentioned in the catalogue, they have been priri,cipally collected 
 within the region of the former river. 
 
 As an additional remark, it maybe stated that what, in Mr. Geyer's notes, 
 are designated as "slate-hills," "naked, arid, and argillaceous hills," of the 
 Upper Missouri, are more properly reported by Mr. Nicollet as belonging to 
 the cretaceous formation, and consist principally of calcareous marl and 
 plastic clays. 
 
 Finally, although this collection is not sufficiently extensive, owing to 
 the loss of a large portion of it between the rapids of the Des Moines and 
 St. Louis, to justify any general views of the distribution of the principal 
 families of plants in the region explored by Mr. Nicollet, its catalogue will, 
 nevertheless, 1 trust, be a valuable contribution to the geographical distri- 
 bution of American plants, as well as for the number of new species it adds 
 to our flora. 
 
r 237 ] 144 
 
 CLASS l.-EXOGENOUS, OR DYCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 
 RANUNCULACE-*;. 
 
 Aneniofie patens, (Linn.) Prairies near Devil's lake ; May and June. 
 Anemone Caroli?tiana, (Walt.) Council Bluffs; May 13. 
 Anemone Pennsylvanicaj (Linn.) Alluvial prairies of Missouri; May 2. 
 Ranunculus aquatilis, var. capillaceus, (Torr. and Gr.) Near Devil's lake ; 
 
 July 22. 
 Ranunculus cijmhalaria, (Pursh.) Saline margins of Devil's lake ; July 31 . 
 Ranunculus sceleralus, (Linn.) With the preceding. 
 Ranunculus repens, (Linn.) Dry, barren hills around St. Louis ; April 19. 
 var. Marilandicus, (Torr. and Gr.) Wet places, St. 
 Louis. 
 Ranunculus ahortivus, (Linn.) Shady woods, Missouri, and near Devil's 
 
 lake ; April 18. 
 Isopyrum biternatum, (Torr. and Gr., Fl. Am. Suppl.) Rocky woods, 
 
 banks of the Missouri ; April 15. 
 Aquilegia Canadensis, (Linn.) Fertile woods. Council Bluffs ; May 18, 
 Delphinium azureum, (/3 Torr. and Gr.) Dry hills. Upper Missouri ; 
 
 April 18. 
 Aetata rubra, (Bigel.) Woods, Devil's lake ; August 1. 
 Thalictrum divicum, (Linn.) Mouth of Little Platte river; April 18. 
 
 ANONACE^. 
 
 Uvaria triloba, (Torr. and Gr.) Mouth of Platte river ; April 18. 
 
 MENISPERMACE^. 
 
 Menispermum Canadense, (Linn.) Woods, Mankato river ; September 
 26— fruit. 
 
 BERBERIDACE^. 
 
 Leontice thalictroides, (Linn.) Woods near Council Bluffs, and mouth of 
 St. Peter's river; April 25. 
 
 NYMPH^ACE^. 
 
 Nymphcea advena, (Ait.) Upper waters of the Grouse river of North Red 
 river ; August 10. 
 
 PAPAVERACE^. 
 
 Sanguinaria Canadensis^ (Linn.) Fertile woods, Kansas river ; May 5. 
 
 PUMARIACEiE. 
 
 Corydalis aurea, (Willd.) Woods near St. Louis ; April 18. 
 
 Dielytra cucullaria^ (D. C.) Near Gasconade river, Missouri ; April 9. 
 
145 [ 237 ] 
 
 CRUCIFER^. 
 
 Nasturtium sinualnm, (Nult.) Missouri river, sand-bars; April 23— not 
 
 in fruit. 
 Nustvriiurn palustre, (D. C.) Margin of swamps near Jacques river ; 
 
 July 9. 
 Arahis Cana(/ensis, (Linn.) Shady woods, Upper Missouri ; April 29, 
 Arabis denlata^ (Torr. and Gr.) Shady ravine near Council Bluffs; 
 
 April m 
 Arahis hcvigata, (D. C.) Woods opposite St, Louis; April 19. 
 Caidatnine Lndoviciana, (Hook.) Margni of swamps, St. Louis, &c. ; 
 
 April 19. 
 Deritaria laciniata^ (Mnhl.) Rocky banks of the Missouri; April 4. 
 Sisymbrium cauescens, (NiUt.) St. Louis and Fort Pierre, Upper Mis- 
 souri ; April and June. 
 Erysimum as/jcrum, (D. C.) Hills, Upper Missouri and Devil's lake; 
 
 June and July, 
 Erysimum cheiranihoides, (Linn.) Banks of rivers. Upper Mississippi; 
 
 August. 
 Stanleya pitinatifida, (Nutt.) Siaty hills near L'Eau-qui court river; 
 
 May 23. 
 Draba Caroli?iia?ia, (Walt.) St. Louis and Council Bluffs; April 30. 
 Draba brachycarpa, (Nutt.) Grassy hills about St. Louis; April 10. 
 Lepidltnn rtiderale^ (Linn.) For? Pierre, Missouri valley, June 9. 
 (Japsella Bursa-pastoris, (Moench.) Upper Missouri ; June 14. 
 
 CaPPARIDACE.E. 
 
 Cleome integrifolia, (Pursh.) Naked banks of rivers. Upper Missouri ; 
 July 9. 
 
 Polanisia graveoletis^ (Raf.) Gravelly hills and sandy banks of the Up- 
 per Missouri ; June 19. 
 
 POLYGALACE.E. 
 
 Polygala Senega, (Linn.) Borders of ponds, Upper Missouri. 
 
 Poiygala Vfrticillata, (Linn.) Prairies about Devil's lake ; August 1. 
 
 Polygala alba ^ (Nutt.) — P. t>e?/richii,[ToTr. and Gr.) Roots thick, throw- 
 ing up numerous stems, which are to 8 iiiches high ; leaves scarcely 
 a line wide ; spike somewhat larger than those of poiygala verticil- 
 lata; lobes of the caruncle half as long as the hairy seed. Gravelly 
 banks of the Missouri, near the banks of L'Eau quicourl river; 
 May 23. A rare species, of which I for the first time saw specimens 
 in this collection. 
 
 VIOLACE^. 
 
 Viola delphini folia, (Nutt.) Prairies near Council Bluffs; May 5. 
 Viola Canadensis, (Linn.) Prairie groves, from near the mouth of Ver-- 
 
 million river, Upper Missouri, north to Devil's lake; May 10. 
 Viola cncullaia, (Ait.) Prairies near Council Blufi's; May 15, 
 10 
 
[ 237 ] 146 
 
 Viola Ntdtallii, (Pnrsh.) Valley of the Missouri, above White river; 
 
 June 14. 
 Viola puhescejis, var. scabrivscula, (Torr. and Gr.) Woods near Council 
 
 Bluffs; April 17. 
 
 DROSEKACE^. 
 
 Pamassia palustris^ (Linn.) Boggy meadows, Devil's lake, and valley 
 of Shayen river; July 30. 
 
 CISTACE^. 
 
 Hudsonia towentosa, (Nutt.) Castle rock, near Cannon or La Hontan 
 river, and Upper Mississippi ; October 12— fr. 
 
 HYPERICACE^. 
 
 Hypericum pyramidatum, (Ait.) Borders of woods and prairies, St. Pe- 
 ter's river; September \7—fr. 
 Hypericum ellipiicuf/i, {Hook.) Dry swamps near Devil's lake; July 24. 
 
 CARYOPHYLLACE.E. 
 
 Arennria lateriflora, (Linn.) Dry woods, Devil's lake ; July 26. 
 
 Stellaria longipes, (Gold.) — (MeringicB species, Fenzl.) \^x. petalis calyce 
 sesqiii longioribus, profundi bipartuis; sepalis ovato-lanccolatis; ob- 
 scuri 3-Jiervis. Springs about Devil's lake ; July 26. 
 
 ILLECEBRACE^. 
 
 Spergula rubra, (Torr. and Gr.) Low saline soils between Jacques and 
 Red rivers. 
 
 PORTULACACE^. 
 
 Claytonia Virginica, (Linn.) Woods, Upper Missouri ; April 6. 
 
 LINAGES. 
 
 Liinnm perenne, (Linn.) Prairies between Shayenoju river and Devil's 
 
 lake; July 20. 
 Linum rigidum, (Pursh.) Missouri hills and alluvions; June 12. 
 
 GERANlACEiE. 
 
 Geranium Caroliniarmm , (Linn.) Dry prairies. Upper Missouri ; June 8. 
 Geranium maculaium,, (Linn.) Fertile woods, Council Bluffs; April 30. 
 
 OXALIDACEiE. 
 
 Oralis violacea, (Linn.) Moist prairies, Council Bluffs; April 29. 
 Oxalis strictOf (Linn.) Dry banks, Upper Missouri ; April 29. 
 
147 I 237 j 
 
 ZANTHOXYLACE^. 
 
 ^a«fc^?;m Jmer.-ca;z,,m, (Mill.) Fertile woods of the Missouri, oppo- 
 sjte the old Kansas village; April 17. ^^ 
 
 ANACARDIACE^. 
 
 ^^'lunfs-/;.^^'""'^ H,Ils of Missouri, near L'Eau-qui-court river; 
 
 MALVACE^. 
 VITACE^. 
 
 ^"^^sZf^n^^f '^'''-^ Throughout the prairie region between the Mis- 
 souri and Mississippi rivers ; May 17. 
 
 ACERACEiE. • 
 
 Acer dasycarpum, (Ehrh.) Upper Missouri ; J,ine-/r 
 J\e^undo aceroides, (Moench.) With the preceding ,• April-/. 
 
 CELASTRACE^. 
 
 Celastrus scovdens ihinn.) Ravines near Council Bluffs ; May 19-/r 
 S^ap/>ylea Infolia, (Linn.) Woods, Upper Missouri ; April 13 "^ 
 
 T-^.""''"'^"'^"''""- ^^'°'^^'' ^P'^'^ ^^^^' common;' September 
 
 RHAMNACE^. 
 
 ^/mnjm. lanceolatus, (Pursh.) Ravi„es near Council Bluffs • May 19 
 Ceanoihus ovahs, (Bigel) Council Bluffs; May 15. ' ^ 
 
 LEGUMTNOS^. 
 
 Vicia Am^encana (Muhl) Woody margins of Shayen river- the most 
 
 abundant vetch ni the rocky prairies of St. Peter's ; July 24 
 Lathyrus paluslns, (Linn.) Buffalo prairie, near Council BluffsL^,',,, /i 
 1Z T-fr"'' ^^^""^ ""^""^ '""^^ "f ^^^ Upper Missouri ' Zf, 
 Lathyrus linearis, (Nutt.) Prairie near Council Bluffs ; May 16 
 
 'ST 2^;;; ' ^''"'^'-^ ^°^^y f-^"-' ^-- S^- PS Itmmon ; 
 P^a5cW^,We.-o.;,.r;nu.., (Torr. and Gr.) Common on the rivers and banks 
 ^.m n^^r^ri^Vt!;^"^ "'"" '^'"^^" the Mississippf^^lcf^S 
 Glycyrrhiza lepidota,{SnM.) Prairies of James (Jacques) river • Julv 1^ 
 
[ 237 ] 148 
 
 Psoralea cuspidata (Pursh.)— (P. cryptocarpa^ Torr. and Gr. ; vkh Fl. N. 
 Am., Siippl., p. 668.) Nuked lulls of the Missouri, near White river ; 
 July 5. 
 
 Psoralf^a lanceolata, (Pursh.) Sand-bars of the Upper Missouri— si/<e fl. 
 
 At/ioip/ia/ruclicosa, {Lhm) With the preceding ; May 22. 
 
 Atnorpha canescens, (N'itt.) Prairie region between the Missouri and Mis- 
 sissippi; abundant; July 16. 
 
 Awnrplia nana, (Nutt.) Hills of Missouri, near White river ; June 18. 
 
 Petalostemum. candidum, (Michx.) High prairies of the Missouri and 
 Mississippi ; July 13. 
 
 Petalusteinum violaceian, (Michx.) Prairies, sources of the St. Peter's ; 
 August 25. 
 
 Dalea alopeciiroides, (Willd.) Banks of Spirit lake, <fec. ; October \—fr. 
 
 Hosac/da Purshiana, (^Beuth.) Naked hills of the Upper Missouri ; June 16. 
 
 Astnignias hi/poqhttis, (Linn.) High prairies and river alluvions, Upper 
 Missouri ; June 16. 
 
 Astragalus caryomrpus, (Ker.) Leaflets manifestly petiohilate, narrowed 
 at the base ; peduncles about the length of the leaves; raceme 6-10 
 flmvered ; calyx hirsute, with blackish hairs, teeth one-third the 
 length of the tube ; corolla bright violet purple, Ihree-lourlhs of an 
 inch long; legume immature. Black Snake hills. Upper Missouri, 
 I,o\ver St. Peter's river, and high prairies between the Missouri and 
 Mississippi ; April 17. 
 
 Astragalus racemosus, (Pursh.) Dry, argillaceous hills, Upper Missouri ; 
 May 24. 
 
 Astragalus gracilis, (Nutt.) Canescently pubescent ; stem slender, branch- 
 ed ; leaflets 5 — 6 pairs,, distant, narrowly linear, obtuse, petiolulate; 
 stipules linear lanceolate, with a broad base ; peduncles 2 — 3 times as 
 long as the leaves ; racemes opicate ; flowers (white, tinged with blue) 
 erectopatulous,*numerous ; legumes (very small) ovate, sessile, inflated 
 depressed, abruptly acuminate ; calyx semi-ovate, hirsute ; lube twice 
 the length of the acute teeth ; roois long and slender, with the taste 
 of liquorice; stems l^ foot high, moderately branched; leaflets three- 
 fourihs of an inch long, and less than one line wide, distinctly petiol- 
 ulate ; racemes 30 — 40 flowered ; pedicles somewhat recurved in fruit; 
 flowers one fourth of an inch long. Missouri hills, near the mouth of 
 Vermillion and L'Eau qui court rivers ; May 24. 
 Astragalus spicalus, (Nutt, 7) Canescently hirsuie, with appressed hairs ; 
 stem much branched; leaves on short petioles; leaflets 8 — 9 pairs, 
 often alternate, elliptical, obovate, nearly glabrous above; stipules 
 minute, lanceolate; raceme 10 — 15 flowered, about as long as the 
 leaves; flowers spreadiwg ; calyx cylindrical-oblong, very gibbous at 
 the base; ti'efh oue third the length of the tube, very obtuse; legume 
 (immature) oblong-cylindrical, somewhat curved. Naked hills of the 
 Upper Missouri, and the adjoining prairies ; May 22. 
 
 ■ Oxytropis splendens, (Dougl.) Fertile, elevated prairies between Shayen- 
 oju and Red rivers, «fcc. ; July 25. 
 Oxylrnpis Lumber li, (Pursh.) Densely silky pubescent ; stems nearly 
 subterranean ; leaves with very long petioles ; leaflets 9 — 1 1 pairs, 
 lanceolate and elliptical lanceolate, acute, pubescent on both sides; 
 stipules lanceolate, adnate to the petiole ; peduncles \ — \ longer than 
 
149 [ 237 ] 
 
 tlie leaves ; racemes oblong, 15 — IS flowered ; flowers (large, bright 
 purple) erect, spreading ; calyx ttibiilar ; teeth subulate, one third the 
 iengih of the tube; vexilUmi about as long as the wings; legumes 
 coriact-ous, triangtjiar, concave on the dorsal suture, abruptly acumi- 
 nate, glabro\is ; the sutures thickened. Hills near Council Blutis, on 
 the Upper St. Peter's, &c. ; May 17. 
 
 PhcBa elvngata^ (titiok.?) l.eaves linear cunieform ; calix villous; leg- 
 iKue one inch long, curved; upper suture thickened; legumes 3 — 4 
 lines long, 2 lines broad, about six seeded, canescenfly hirsute, trans- 
 versely veined, concave on the back, the ventral suture tumid. This 
 species (which I doubthilly refer to l^.elongatn of Hooker) appears to 
 be distinct from any other Plittd described in the F^'lora oi North 
 America. It is allied to P. pectinata^ (Hook.,) but differs in its ar- 
 ticulated leaflets, larger flowers, &c. 
 
 Plicba ccaspitosa^ (Nnlt.) Hii^h prairies near Devil's lake — sitie fl. 
 
 Homalobus multiflorits, (Torr. and Gr.) Naked hills of Missouri and 
 Shayen rivers; July 2\—Ji. and//-. Stems numerous, 1^ foot high ; 
 legume 5 — G seeded. 
 
 Desniudiiim Canadense, (D. C.) Borders of rivers and woods, St. Peter's 
 river, &,c. ; Aua^ust 3. 
 
 Lupuius pitsillus, (Nuit.) About the habitations of the prairie mar mot ^ 
 near White river, Upper Missouri; June ^—Ji. and//-. 
 
 Schra.ii.lda uficiuaia, (Willd.) Hills on the Missouri ; June 30. 
 
 Darli It ({to/da brachyloba, var. frlandulom^ (Torr. and Gr.) Gravelly banks 
 of Spirit lake ; September 3U^^ and />. 
 
 Cercis Canadensis (Linn,) Woods, Missouri ; common ; April 4, 
 
 R0SACE/-E. 
 
 Cerasus Virg-iniana, (D. 0.) Banks of the Missouri ; .April 25. 
 ^Cerasus puinila, (Michx.) Arid liills of the Upper Missouri; June 19. 
 PotetUilla argeulea^ (Linn.) Prairie swamps, Shayen oju river, &,c. ; 
 
 July 15. 
 PotetitiUa ars^ufa, (Pursh.) Fertile prairies near Wamdushka and Shay- 
 
 en-oju rivers ; July 18. 
 Poteiitilla paradoxUf (Niitt.) Margin of Devil's lake ; July 26. The 
 
 large appendage to the ba?e of the seed is of a spongy texture, and 
 
 contains no starch. I found it in all the specimens of this collection, 
 
 but fear, neverihsless, the identity of this species and P. supina. 
 Potentdln Peunsi/loanica, var. bijjinnatijida, (Torr. and Gr.) No label 
 
 with tlie specim^^ns 
 Fragaria Virginiana, (\\\\\.) Hills of the Upper Missouri ; June 19. 
 Chain cr.rliodos crecia, (Bunge.) Dry hills about Devil's lake; July 29 — 
 
 /. and/r. 
 Geinn sirictiim, (Ait.) Borders of woods, Devil's lake; July 24. 
 Rosa b/.auda, (Xa.l) Perhaps R. stricta. Stem with reddish prickles. 
 
 Lieaflets 7 — 9 ; the under surface and the petioles pubescent. Devil's 
 
 lake ; August I. 
 Rosa Incida, (Khrh.) Banks of the Upper Missouri ; May 25. 
 Cralccavs coccincvs, (var. Torr, and Gr.) Banks of the Upper Missouri ; 
 
 April 25. 
 Amelanchier Canadensis^ var. oblongifolia, (Torr. and Gr.) Banks of the 
 
 Upper Missouri and its tributaries: May lO,Jl.j July 4,/r. 
 
[ 237 ] 150 
 
 ONAGRACEiE. 
 
 Epilohtum coloratum, (Muhl.) Saline margins of Devil's lake; August I. 
 Bpilobitrm palnslre, ^ albijloium, (Lelim.) Wet woods, Devil's lake ; 
 
 h\\y 30. 
 Efiilobiuin atig-usti/oUum, (hmn.) With the preceding ; Angnst 1. 
 Gaura coccinea, (Niitt.) Council Bluffs, and high prairies between the 
 
 Missouri and Missisippi ; May IG. 
 (Enothcra serrulata, (Nult.) With the preceding; July 6. 
 (Etwthera ccespitosa, [NuU.) Slate hills, Upper Missouri; June 10. 
 (E/iot/iera atbicaulis, (Nutt.) Sandy places ; sources of the St. Peter's, 
 
 •4fec.; June 9. 
 CEnotliera pitaiatiftda, (Niitt.) Sandy soils ; valley of the Missouri and 
 
 White rivers ; June 6. 
 (Enothei-a biennis, (Linn.) Upper Missouri and Mississippi ; July 16. 
 Circ(Ba Inteiiana, (Linn.) Fertile woods, Devil's lake; August 2. 
 Myrvtphylluni sjncalnm, (Linn.) Near Shayen ojii river; July 25. 
 Hijjpuris vulgaris. (Linn.) Jacques river lake, &c.; July 15. 
 
 LOASE^. 
 
 Menzelia oriiata, (Torr. and Gr.) Argillaceous hills. Upper Missouri, with 
 Yucca angnstifolia, and Slanley a; June — noyi?. 
 
 GROSSULARIACE^. 
 
 Ribes Missoiiriense, (Nutt.) Rocky woods on the Missouri and Mis- 
 sissippi rivers; April 15. Branches grayish white; racemes 3 — 5 
 flowered; peduncles and pedicles pubescent; leaves pubescent, es- 
 pecially on the under surface. 
 
 Ribcs lacustre, (Poir.) With the preceding. 
 
 Ribes JlorirJum, (I'Herit.) Woods, Mississippi and Missouri ; Moy 16. 
 
 Ribes anreutn, {Puish.) Bunks and ravines near L'eau qui court, or Ni- 
 obrarah river ; May 23~-/r. 
 
 SAXIFRAGACE^. 
 
 Hydratigea arboresceiis, (Linn.) Fr. (no label.) 
 
 UMBELLIFER^. 
 
 2!^izia aurea^ (Koch.) Prairies, Council Bluffs; May 22— Jf. 
 tSium lineare, (Michx.) Prairie swamps, Devil's lake ; August 3. 
 Tliaspium barbinode, (Nutt.) Fertile woods, Upper Missouri. Plant 3| 
 
 feet high ; leaflets 2^ inches long ; the petioles and veins more or 
 
 less pubescent when young. 
 Penceiiannni fceniculaceurti, (Nutt.) Fertile elevated prairies. Council 
 
 Bluffs, May 22— fr. 
 PolytcBiiia Nntlullii, (D. C.) Dry argillaceous hills, Upper Missouri ; June 
 
 'S—fr.jtni. 
 Osmorhiza longisfi/lis, (D. C.) Woods, Council Bluffs ; April 18— fr. 
 OsT/torhiza brevistt/lis, (D. C.) With the preceding. 
 
 ARALIACE^. 
 
 Araliaiiudicaulis, (Litin.) Fertile woods, Devil's lake ; August l—JTi. 
 
151 [237] 
 
 CORNACE^. 
 
 Cornus stnlonijera^ (Michx.) Low woods and islands, Upper Missouri, 
 
 abundcUit ; June 2— 2^. and/r.jun. 
 Cornus Florida, {liinn.) Missouri bluffs!, as high as the Kansas river; 
 
 April 14. 
 
 RUBIACE^. 
 
 Syrapliorirnrpus occidentalism (R. Br.) Banks of Shayen-oju rivor, July 
 14. 'I'he most common slirub in the prairie region. liCaves of the 
 young shoots often coarsely toothed, as in <S'. rasemosa. 
 
 Galium aparine, (Unn.) Low woods of the Missouri, May 28. Leaves 
 in the young phinl mostly 7 in a whirl. 
 
 Galium trijiduf/i, (Ijinn.) Dry swamps. Devil's lake; August S—fr. 
 
 Galium boreale, (Liun.) With the preceding ; July 20. 
 
 COMPOSITE. 
 
 Vernonia fasdculata, (Michx.) Dry swamps, Devil's lake ; August 2. 
 
 Liatris punctata, var. )3 and y, (Hook.) Dry prairies on the dividmg-ridges 
 between the Mississippi and Missouri waters; August 20. 
 
 Liatris scariosa, (VVilld.) Mouth of the St. Peter's river ; September 19. 
 
 Kuhnia eupatoroides, var. cori/nibosa, (Torr. and Gr.) High prairies, 
 Devil's lake; July 27. 
 
 Eupatorium per/oliatum, (Linn.) Sioux country ; September 22. 
 
 Eupatnriuui purpunum, {L\un.) Wet meadows, Devil's lake ; August 2. 
 
 Eupatorium a<y;eratoides, (Linn.) Borders of woods, Upper Missouri; 
 September 30. 
 
 Aster NovcB AngUm, (Ait.) Border of swamps, Upper Missouri and tribu- 
 taries; September 10. 
 
 Aster cardifolius,{L\nn.) Woody hills, St. Peter's river; September 6. 
 
 Aster atigustns, (Torr. and Gr.) Saline swampy margin of Lake of the 
 W^oods ; July 25. 
 
 Aster Novm Ddgii, (Linn.) and var. 7ninor, (Torr. and Gr.) Borders of 
 Spirit lake; October I. 
 
 Aster sagitiif alius, (j8. Torr. and Gr.) Woods, St. Peter's river ; Septem- 
 ber 6, 
 
 Aster sericeus, (Vent.) Dry hills from the St. Peter's river across to the 
 Missouri ; August 31. 
 
 Aster azureus, (Lind.) Prairies of Mankato river ; September 20. 
 
 Aster IcBois, (Linn.) Upper Missouri ; September 25. 
 
 Aster oblongi/olius, (Nutt.) High prairies and limestone hills. Upper Mis- 
 sissippi; September IG. 
 
 Aster ptarmicoidcs, (Torr, and Gr.) Hills, (fee, between the Missouri and 
 Mississippi rivers; Auijust and September. 
 
 Erigerou puf/iilum, (Nutt.) Hills of the Missouri, near Fort Pierre ; 
 June 26. 
 
 Erigeron sdigosuju, (Muhl.) Borders of swamps, Devil's lake ; July 2G. 
 
 Erigeron P/iiladelphicum , {lAnn.) Missouri alluvions; April 30. 
 
 Erigeron OtnndHuse, (Linn.) Banks of Mankato river; September 16. 
 
 Erigc.rnu divaricutum, (Michx.) Upper Missouri ; a weed about the habi- 
 tations of the prairie marmot; July 4. 
 
[ 237 ] 152 
 
 Erigernn glohellum, (Nutt.) Fertile prairies, Devil's lake, (fcc. ; July 26. 
 !Solid<i<^o I'lflfnlin, (Linn.) Shady banks, Upper Mississippi ; September 11. 
 Solidalio erecta, var. siricta, (Torr. and Gr.) Prairie region between the 
 
 Missouri and Mississippi ; September 14. 
 Solidago Buk/eUii, (Frank.) Boggy prairies, near St. Peter's river ; Sep- 
 
 teml)er 14. 
 Solidngo nernoralis^ (Ail.) Fertile prairies, Devil's lake ; July 22. 
 iSolidago Missouriensis, (Nutt.) High prairies towards the sources of the 
 
 St. Peter's; August 14. 
 Solidago Canadensis, {^ Torr. and Gr.) Throughout the more northern 
 
 prairies of Upper Missouri ; July and August. 
 Solidago gigantea, var. Pitc/ieri, (Torr. and Gr.) August 22. 
 Solidago uimna. (Torr. and Gr.) Prairie region between the Missouri and 
 
 Mississippi rivers, growing in tults ; July 7. 
 Bolionia glastifolia, (I'Her.) Devil's lake, and month of St. Peter's river ; 
 
 August. 
 Guturrizia ciithami(c, (Torr. and Gr.) Arid soil, Upper Missouri, &.C. ; 
 
 July 20. 
 Aplopui>pns spinrdosiis, {D. C.) High prairies, Upper Missouri to Upper 
 
 Si. Peter's ; July 8. 
 Grinddia squarrosa, (Dunal.) Prairies, Jacques to Shayen-oju rivers, east 
 
 to the Coteau des Prairies, Upper St. Peter's. 
 Chrysop>is vil/osa, (Nutt.) Sandy arid soil, Upper Missouri ; June 28. 
 Silphium ladnintum, (Lum.) Wet prairies, Lower St. Peter's river, Up- 
 per Des Moines river, etc. ; September 26. 
 Iva axillaris, (Pursh.) Arid hills. Upper Missouri; May 25. 
 Ambrosia corouopifoUa, (Torr. and Gr.) Saline margin of Devil's lake ; 
 
 August 1. 
 Ambrosia trijida, (Linn.) Borders of woods, Devil's lake ; July 26. 
 Xauthinm ecldnatum, {? Torr. and Gr.) Banks of Spirit lake, and head- 
 waters of Little Sioux river; September 30 — ripe Jr. 
 Echinacea angu^tifolia, {(i Torr. and Gr.) Dry gravelly ridges of Upper 
 
 Missouri ; June 28. 
 Budbeckia liirta, (Linn.) Moist ravines near Devil's lake ; August 3. 
 Leparhis cohnnnaiis, (Torr. and Gr.) and var. pidcherrime, (Torr. and Gr.) 
 Dry prairies about James (Jacques) river. Upper St. Peter's, &c. ; 
 July 6. 
 Helianlhus peliolaris, (Nutt ) Argillaceous hills, Upper Missouri ; June 4. 
 HeLatit/tus iirosse serrai us, {Maitens.) Moist prairies, St. Peter's river; 
 
 September 8. 
 Helianthus le/ilicnlaris, (^ Torr. and Gr.) With H. petiolaris. 
 Helianthnspvrnilus, var. McoUeti, (Torr. and Gr.) Prairies, Devil's lake. 
 
 August 1. 
 Heliantiins rigidus, (D. C.) With the preceding, and at Devil's lake. 
 
 Helianthus , (perhaps a new species.) Borders of rivulets on St. 
 
 Peter's river. 
 Coreopsis (Calliopsis) tinctoria, (Nutt.) Prairies about Jacques river; 
 
 July 6. 
 Dysodia rjirysanthemoides, (Lag.) Marmot habitations near Fort Pierre ; 
 
 rare on the Upper Missouri ; June 10. 
 Gaillardia uristaia, (Pur^h ) liij^htst arid prairie ridges between James 
 (Jacques) river and Devil's lake ; July 10. 
 
153 [ 237 ] 
 
 Hymennphyllus tewiifulius, (Piirsh.) Gravelly banks of the Missouri, above 
 L'liiau-qiii-court river; May 2i). 
 
 Heleiduni aiitinnnale, |3 grand ijiorum, (Torr. and Gr.) Mouth of the St. 
 Peter's river; September 2, 
 
 Achillea '//lillefuliuni, y occidcntale, (D. C.) Grassy ravines of the Mis- 
 souri hills ; June 14. 
 
 Antennaria plantaghiea, (R. Br.) Dry hills, Upper Missouri; May 5. 
 
 Antennarid dioica, (R. Br.) With the preceding; June II — -//•. 
 
 Senecio bnlsainitm, (VVilld.) Dry hills near Council Bluffs; May 10. 
 
 Senecio aureus, (Linn.) Prairies, Council Bluffs; alAindiint; May 16. 
 
 iSe?iecio ifitegerri?nus, {^int) Grassy ravines, Upper Missouri; May 27. 
 Very smooth, and somewhat glaucous ; about two feet high ; aclienia 
 angularly sulcate. 
 
 Senecio (undetermined.) Saline margin of Devil's lake ; July 31. No. 96, 
 Geyer. 
 
 Arte?nisia lotigifolia, {^un.) Arid calcareous marl-hills near the mouth 
 of VVashtey, or Titon river. Upper Missouri. 
 
 Artemisia dracu7iloides^ {Pnrsh) Sandy prairies, lakes and river banks, 
 between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers; common; July. 
 
 Artemisia cana, (Puish.) Arid hills and valleys of the Missouri and 
 Shayen-oju rivers, &c.; June 14. 
 
 Artemisia biennis^ (Nutt.) Arid banks of Spirit lake, &c.-, September 30. 
 
 Artemisia dracuucnloides, var. 'I conescefis. (Torr. and Gr.) Sandy banks 
 and prairies of Jacques river — s.Jl. and Jr. 
 
 Artetnisiafrii^ida, (Willd.) Shady prairies, Jacques river, &c.; July 18. 
 
 Artemisia Canadensis^ (Linn.) With the preceding, and at DeviPs lake — 
 s.Jl. and Jr. 
 
 Cirsiiini discolor, (Spreng.) Banks of Snake river ; July 8. 
 
 Cirsiuni, (new species?) Fertile prairies around Devil's lake ; August 5. 
 
 Cirsiuni undulatum, (Spreng.) Missouri hills, near Fort Pierre ; June 14. 
 
 Cirsiuni, (new species'/) With the preceding. 
 
 Sonchus pulc/iellns, (Pursh) — Lactuca pulchella, [D. C.) L. integri/olia, 
 (Nutt, gen.) Biennial stem, 1 — 2 feet high ; leaves nearly all rnnci- 
 nate ; upper (and sometimes most of tlie cauline ones) nearly or 
 quite entire ; heads 10 — 15, in a more or less fastigiate panicle; pedi- 
 cle about as long as the flower ; involucre glabrous, purplish ; inner 
 scales about 8; achenia deeply sulcate, glabrous, attenuate U[)wards 
 into a short beak ; pa[)pns silky, white, consisting of numerous soft 
 hairs in a smgle series. Banks of lakes and rivers. Upper Missouri ; 
 July 15. 
 
 Lactuca, (new species?) — not in Herbarium — (Torr. and Gr.) Arid banks 
 of a lake firmed by Jacques river; July 15. 
 
 Nabalus albus, var. serpeniaria, (Torr. and Gr.) Banks of Devil's lake ; 
 July 31. 
 var. suavis, (Torr.) N. suavis, (D. C.) N. albus, (Hook.) 
 Leaves very variable in tliis species. 
 
 Nabalns race'nosus,{D. C.) Prairies, Devil's lake ; August 2. Stem often 
 simple; stem-leaves oblong, acute or obtuse, clasping; lowest ones 
 attenuate at the base; undulate tootbed. 
 
 Nabalus IlUnocusis, (D. C.) Coteau des Prairies, Upper Sioux, or Tchan- 
 kasndata river; August 16. Stem 1.^ to 2^ feel high; lower part 
 sometimes nearly glabrous ; leaves erosely denticulate, 1 — 3 inches 
 long; heads 11 — 12 flowered. 
 
r 237 ] 154 
 
 '^^^ wis/""''"' ''^""•^ "'"' "'■ ^''"'""' ""^ f"" Pi-'ffe. &o.; 
 Bieraci^njunoinatum (?), (Jacques.) Borders of woods, Devil's lake 
 
 ^"ti'stlo""""' ^^""■' ^^"''^' """^P """^^' C«'^»" des Prairies) 
 ^™tir; ZTa"'""'' ^"""-^ '^"''''' '""^ »"" ™"^y^ Upper Mi 
 
 'I 
 
 EJIICACE^E. 
 
 Arclosfaphjlos vva nrsi, (Spren^^.) Sar.dstone rocks, Upper Missouri 
 Vaccimum tenellum, (Ait.) With the precedii.cr. ' ^^ ^«'ssoiiri. 
 
 LOBELIACE.E. 
 
 Lobeha Kalrnii, (Linn.) About springs, Devil's lake ; July 31. 
 
 CAMPANULACL.E. 
 
 ''"T™rtjui;"Sf^'*''' ''"■""•) '^^""^^ '" '"^ P-'"- of Shayen.oj„ 
 
 OLEACE.55. 
 
 ^'"iTm ^T'^r'^'- ^^''™- '>-^- ^^^'^^'•^«"«, (iVlichx. /•.) Upper Mis- 
 Z i,. n r f " ^l ''''*^' "^'•^"^' acn.ninate, ferrate f nnrrer^Milce 
 
 Fore./^;v,ac,,,../^,a,a,(Po^^ Amer. Philos. Trans 5 p 176^ 
 
 Ac/ehn arunnnala, (Michx. /., Bor. A.ner., 2, p. 225 t 4 S { '^BVnks 
 
 APOCYNACE^. 
 
 Apocynwn cannah'mvm, TLinn "i Rnnk*: nf "V-.r^^.^u • - 
 
 /^^^ 7 f.i. «i V-"'".'"/ ij'UJKs 01 1 ampari river, nviere miv 
 
 //07//eaw.r oftheShayen-o u: Julv 17 ', '^y^ere awA 
 
 lyen-oju ; July 17. 
 
 ASCLEPIADACEiE. 
 
 i s^p/ '1^^^^^^^^ p,,i,ies of Devil's lake; July 27 Var 
 
 /3, sterns short (about a span hiahj numerous, very slendei In tl.P 
 praines near Fort Pierre, Upper Missouri ; July 4 ^ ' 
 
 pedilion "'««•«„//,.;■„ colleeled by James. i„ Long's ex^ 
 
 A^rat^s viriii flora, (Ell.) Hills of li.e Missouri ; June 29. 
 
 J 
 
155 [ 237 ] 
 
 GENTIANACEiE. 
 
 Gentiana detonsa, (Fries.) Boggy prairies about Devil's lake ; July 30. 
 Corolla, deep aziiro blue. 
 
 Gentiava pvbcrula. (Michx.) ^V,rtheln part of (he elevated gras?y plain 
 between (lie Misbonri and the JMissit^sippi ; August to October. 
 
 Gentiana propinqna, (Rich.) Fertile prairies between Shayen oju and Red 
 rivers; July ^0. 
 
 Gentiana affinis, (Griscb.) Fertile prairies, Devil's lake; August b. 
 
 Gentiana quivqveflora, (Lam ) Northern part of the prairie region ; Sep- 
 tember and October. 
 
 Gentiana crinita, (Frnel.) Moist prairies, St. Peter's river : September ^0. 
 
 Gentiana saponaria, (Linn.) Hills and prairies, La Hontan river; Sep- 
 tember 27. . . ^ 
 
 Gtntiana Anc/rewsii. (Griseb.) Wet prairies, Upper Mississippi ; Septem- 
 her lo. 1 am suspicious that this species is not sufficiently distinct 
 from the G. saponaria. 
 
 POLEMONIACE^. 
 
 Phlox divaricata, (l-inn.) Banks of the Missouri, to the Platte; April 8. 
 Collomia linearis, {Nim) Upper Missouri ; June l3-/r. 
 Navaretia (Gilia) intcrtextn, (Hook.) Dry swamps in the prairies east of 
 Devil's lake ; August 8. 
 
 CONVOLVULACE^. 
 
 Convolvulns stans. (Michx.) Grassy ravines, Jacques river; June 8. 
 Evolmdns argentens, (Pursh., iNutt.) Gravelly hills of the Missouri, near 
 Fort Pierre; June 28. 
 
 BORAGINACE^E. 
 
 Hdiotrnpium cvrassavicvm, (Linn.) Stony, wet borders of Jacques river ; 
 July 16. 
 
 Litfiospcrn.nm incisum, (Lehm.— Hook., Fl. Bor. Amer , 2, p. 87, (. 165.) 
 L. longijlura, (Spreng.) &c. High prairies near Council Bluffs; 
 April 30. 
 
 Lithospernntm canescens, (Lehm.) Dry prairies, Black Snake hills; 
 April 17. 
 
 Lithospirmnm Mandanense, (Hook., Fl. Bor. Amer., 2, p. 88 and 166.) 
 Upper Missouri. Root thick, black, pereuni.il ; stem and leaves canes- 
 cemly puliesceut, (the pubescence appressed ;) leaves li inch long, 
 lanceol.ite linear ; flowers solitiiry; axillary in the upper part of the 
 stern; calyx of 5 linear seguieiiis as long or longer than the tubular 
 (Vtllowibh) corolla; border of the corolla slightly spreading ; (?) lobes 
 roundish, one-third the length of the tube; crenate eroded ; nuts tur- 
 gidly ovale, with a few impressed dots towards the base; stames as 
 lon:i as the tube of the corolla. 
 
 Myosotis chorisiana, (Cham.— Hook., 2, p. 83.) Dry swamps in the prai- 
 ries about Devil's lake; August 1. 
 
[ 237 ] 156 
 
 Myosotis glomerata, (Nutt.— Hook., Fl. Bor. Amer. 2, p. 82, t. 162.) Dry 
 situations, Upper .Vlissoiiri, near Fort Pierre; June 25. 
 
 Ecliiiiospermnm patuhun, (Lehin.) Prairies near Fort Pierre ; June 12. 
 
 Er.hinosi>erniiiin Lappiila, (Leiiui.)* With the preceding:. 
 
 Onosmndiuni hispid uni, (iVlichx.) Prairies net\r Titon, or Shicha river; 
 rare ; June 14. 
 
 HYDROPHYLLACE.E. 
 
 HydrnpIiyUuin Virginicum, (Linn.) Fertile woods near Council Bluffs: 
 April 30. ' 
 
 Ellisia iiyctagenea, (Linn.) About the prairie marmots' habitations, Up- 
 per Missouri; June 24. 
 
 LABIAT.E. 
 
 Lycopus ob/Msifolius, (Wichx.) Bmth. Lab., p. \86. Saline margins of 
 
 Devil's lake; August 2. No traces of sieril filaments. 
 Mono Ida Jistulosa, (Linn.) Beidli., I. c. Prairies, Devil's lake; July 30. 
 Hedcoiiia hiita, (Nuit ) Prairie marmots' habitations. Upper Missouri; 
 
 June 10-— /r. 
 Lophaiiius anisaius, (Benth.) Borders of woods, Shayen-oju river and^ 
 
 Devil's lake; July 20. 
 Physosiegm Virginica, (Benth.) With the preceding. A variable plant ;i 
 
 leaves in Mr. Nicollet's specimens coarsely and acutely toothed. 
 
 SOLANACE.E. 
 
 Solaimm. nigrum, (Linn.) Sandy banks of Spirit lake; September 20— 
 fl. M\i\J'r. 
 
 Solaiiinn Irijloruni, (Nutt.) A weed about the holes of the prairie marmot, 
 U|>per Missouri. It was found in similar situations by Drumraond in 
 British North America, from Carlton House to Edmonton House. 
 
 Androctra lobata, (Nutt.) ISuhinuia heleranduni, (Pursh.) Ferruo-inous 
 stcril soils in the Missouri valley, near Fort Pierre ; June 20. 
 
 Physalis lanceulata, (Michx. ?) Dry banks of Jacques river; July \5—Jl. 
 aiid/r. Root perennial ; stem about one fool lonj;, glabrous ; leaves 
 peiioiate, obovate lanceolate, obiu.se, entire, or undufate on the margin ; 
 truciiferous calyx globose; corolla dull yellow, about half an inch in 
 diameter; berry red, about the size of a small cherry; differs from 
 Mich, Mix's description in the perennial root; and from P. grandijlora 
 (Hook) in the smoolh stem and leaves, as well as smaller flowers. 
 
 PhysaLis viscosu, (Linn.) W. E. Aikiii in Eat. Man. Sandy banks of 
 Spirit lake; September 29— /r. 
 
 SCROPHULARIACEvE, 
 
 Pentslemon graiidifiorunh (Nutt.) P. Bradhurii, (Pursh.) Banks of the 
 
 Upper Missouri; April 27. 
 Pentsfemon cristatuin, (;\utt.) Erianthera, (Pursh.) Missouri hills, near 
 
 Fort Pierre ; June 13. 
 Peniatcnioa erianthum, (Nutt.) Hills of Shayen river; June 19. 
 
157 [ 237 ] 
 
 Pentsiemon albidum, (Xutt.) var. (?) Hills, Hiipankiitey prairie, Upper 
 Missouri, May 17. Stem 6 to 10 inches hicjh ; lower leaves lanceolate, 
 acute, entire ; upper ones shar])ly denticulate, glabrous, lanceolate ; 
 flowers half an inch in diameter, three-fourths of an inch long; calyx 
 glandularly pubescent ; segments ovate lanceolate, very acute, and 
 somewhat mucronate ; corolla violet, tubular, campanulate; segments 
 ovate, nearly equal ; pubescent externally ; glabrous internally ; ste/il 
 Jilameiit, with an interrupted glandular pubescence on one side, about 
 halfway down ; summit simple. 
 
 Pentstemon gracile, (Nutt.) Low situations, in prairies near Fort Pierre ; 
 June 19. 
 
 Chelone glabra. Swamps in woods ; September 2. 
 
 Mimulus Geyeri, (Torr.) Annual ; every part glabrous, except the pe- 
 duncles ; stem diffuse, creeping; leaves roundish ovate, nearly en- 
 tire, or obscurely repand-toothed, somewhat cordate ; the lower ones 
 abruptly contracted into a short petiole; upper ones sessile; pedun- 
 cles axillary, solitary, puberulous, scarcely longer than the leaves ; 
 calyx ovate, 5 ribbed; teeth short, unequal, (upper one largest;) 
 flowers (small, yellow?) villous on the inferior part of the throat. 
 Fresh wwter springs. Devil's lake, August 1. 1 have an imperfect 
 specimen of this species collected by Doctor James in JiOng's expe- 
 dition, probably towards the Rocky mountains. It is allied to M. 
 alsinoides, (Dougl ,) but is stouter, the peduncles and petioles much 
 shorter, and the calyx more unequal. M. flnribnada differs in its 
 strongly dentate leaves, and nearly equal calyx. Lindley also describes 
 the plant as " patentipilosus;" but my specimens from Hooker are quiet 
 glabrous. 
 
 Gratinla Virginica, (Linn.) Near St. Louis : roadsides. 
 
 Veronica scnCfllata, (Linn.) Swamps about Devil's lake; August 3. 
 
 Veronica peregrina, (Linn.) Swamps, Jacques river ; July 6 — fr. 
 
 Monniera rottuidiJoUa^ (Michx.) Wet places in the prairies near Jacques 
 river; July 6. 
 
 Gerardi.a pitrinirea, (Linn.) Prairies near Devil's lake; August 8. 
 
 Gerardia tenui/olia, (Valil.) With the precedins;. 
 
 Ortliocitrpiis strictus^ (Renth.) Prairies from Jacques river, north to Red 
 river ; July 6. Probably, as Hooker suggests, only a variety of O. 
 luteus, (Nutt.) 
 
 Castilleja sessilijinra., (Pursh.) Eiichionia grandijlor a, {^ui[.) Prairies 
 about Council Bluffs ; May 5. 
 
 Pediciilaris lanceolata. (Michx.) Low woods. Devil's lake, August 6. 
 
 Pcdicidaris Canadensis, (Linn.) Black Snake hills, Upper Missouri; 
 April 12. 
 
 Orobanche fasciculata, Nutt. — Hook., Fl. Bor. Amer., 2, p. 93, t. 170.) 
 Arid hills of the Missouri, near the Great Bend ; June 6. 
 
 VERBENACE^. 
 
 Verbena uriicifolia, (Linn.) B.mks of Devil's lake; July 28. 
 
 Vei'bena stricta, (.Michx.) Banks of lakes and rivers; prairies of Missouri; 
 
 July 7. 
 Verbena braclensa. (Michx.) Prairies of Upper Missouri ; a weed in the 
 
 marmots' habitations. 
 
[ 237 ] 158 
 
 PRIMULACEiS. 
 
 Lysimachia ciliatn, (Linn.) Borders of woods, Shaven river and Devil's 
 
 lake ; July 20—//-. 
 Lysimachia thyrsifloja, (Linn.) L. capitata, (Pnrsh.) Swamps about 
 
 Council Bluffs, (fee. ; May 16, {fl. m expansion.) 
 Glaux mnrihma, (Linn.) Saline low places in the prairies between Shav. 
 
 en-oju river and Devil's lake ; July 14— /r. . 
 
 LENTIBULARI^. 
 
 Utricularia vulgaris, (Linn.) Ponds near Jacques river ; July 6. 
 
 PLANTAGINE.^. 
 
 Plantago cripoda, (Torr. in Ann. Lye. New York, 2, p. 237.) Denuded 
 Jovv paces in the prairies near Shayen-ojn river and Devil's lake; 
 JuJy 10. ' 
 
 Plautoir^ major, (Linn.) Fertile soils, Shayen-oju river valley ; July 
 
 PiantaffoCaroliniana,(Sil) Pw.t7Ja, (Torr.) P. pusilla, (Nun^ Up- 
 per Missouri ; June 20, ' v y f 
 
 Plan^tgo arisiata, (Michx.) Arid plains of the Upper Missouri, near Fort 
 rierre; June 0. • i > 
 
 Plantaoo^naphalioides (Nim.) Arid conical hills in the prairies near 
 Devil's lake ; July 24. 
 
 NYCTAGINE^. 
 
 Ory^o^At^s /n>.?/^«5 (Hook.) Allioma hrrsvta, (Pursh.) A. pilosa, (Nlitt.?) 
 And hills near Fort Pierre; July 26 ) V^''""-; 
 
 Oxyp,ycus angustifolius, (JovT. in Ann. Lye. New York, 2, p. 237) 
 Denuded hills near the mouth of Shayen-oju river, Missouri ; June 19 
 
 ^ W' u''^'''^^^'''"' ^^'"•' '• '^ ^"^^''" P^^^"^' ^PP^*- ^1>^««« i 
 
 AMARANTHACE^. 
 
 Amflra;^Mu5 a/6«.., (Linn.) Sandy shore of the Upper Missouri • June 27 
 Amarantlius, ne&r pvlygotioidcs, (VVilld.) With the precedi ' 
 
 CHENOPODIACE^. 
 
 ra.iy 1^. Only male specimens «re in Ihe colleclion ; and Mr Nnit 
 
 O4.o»e arA.«,^<a (Moq.) Atnple:v argen/ea, (Nnlt.) Wilh Ihe nrcce 
 ding-probably m saline sanations, as ,l,e specimens have asalttasie J 
 
 I 
 
15^ [ 237 ] 
 
 Chenopndimn alburn^ (Linn.) Banks of Devil's lake ; July 26. 
 
 Chenopodiiim /ii/bridum, (Linn.?) Dry woods, valley of Shayen oju river; 
 July 24. 
 
 Chenofjodimn, (new species 7) A sn)all annual ; whole plant hoaryfurfu- 
 ract'ous ; leaves linear oblong, attenuated at the base into a short pe- 
 tiole, entire ; flowers in glomerate spikes. Conical hills about Devil's 
 lake ; Auyusl 2. 
 
 Atrljdex laciniata (jS.) Americana, (Torr. Fl. N. W. and N. States.) 
 A. Purs/i tana, (Moq ) Low sahne places in the prairies between James 
 (Jacques) river and Devil's lake ; July 5. 
 
 Salsola [?) depreasa, (Pursh.) Saline depressed situations between Jacques 
 river and Devil's lake; very abundant ; July 5. Moqnin Tandon re- 
 fers Pursh's plant to sueda proslrata (Pall ;) and Nuttall considers it 
 , as identical with sals, salsa, {sumda maritinia, Moq.;) but the seed is 
 vertical. 
 
 Salicoriiia herbacea, (Linn.) With the preceding. 
 
 POLYGONACE^. 
 
 Rumex salinfolins, (Weinn.) Hook. Fl. Bar. Amer. 2, p. 129. R. pal- 
 lidns, (Bigel.) Margin of a saline lake near Jacques river; July 6 — -fr. 
 This is the U. vtrlicUeatns of our northern botanists ; but, according 
 to Hooker, hardly of Linnaeus. 
 
 Rumex persicariuides, (Linn.) Sandy banks of the Missouri. 
 
 Rumex venosns, (Pursh.) Hook. I. c. t. 174. Hill sides, Upper Missouri ; 
 June — fr. 
 
 Ru7ii€x Britanniciis, (Linn. ?) Wet meadows, valley of the Missouri ; 
 June 10. The specimens agree well with the European plant, but 
 they want ihe fruit. 
 
 Polytroiiuta articulatuin. Sandy plains, Upper Missouri. 
 
 Polygoiiuni uviculare, (Linn.) Borders of ponds and lakes in prairies ; 
 July 6. 
 
 Polygoiiiini arnpliibium, var. strigosum, (Torr.) Sand bars of the Mis- 
 souri, near Council Bluffs. 
 
 Polygunuia Persicaria, (Linn.) Saline borders of Devil's lake ; July 30. 
 
 LAURACE^. 
 
 Laurus benzoin, (Linn.) Low woods, banks of the Missouri.; April 6. 
 
 ELEAGNACEyE. 
 
 \Eleas[ni(s argentea, (Pursh.) Between Shayen-oju and Red rivers ; abun- 
 dant about Devil's lake. 
 
 Sheplnrdid argenlea, (Nutt — Hook., 1. c. t. 178.) Hippophde argentea, 
 (Pursh.) Upper Missouri and Upper St. Peter's rivers ; June 10— /r. 
 
 SANTALACEiE. 
 
 \Comandra utnbfdJaia, (Nutt. — Hook. 1. c, t. 179, A.) Dry prairies near 
 Council Bluffs ; April 29. 
 
[ 237 ] 160 
 
 EUPHORBIACEiE. 
 
 Evphorhia portulacoides, (Willd.) Hills of the Upper Missouri ; June 10. 
 Euphorbia viarginata, (Pursh.) Valley of the Missouri and Upper St. i 
 
 Peter's; June 24. f 
 
 Eiiphofbia cyathophora, (Willd.) Sandy shore of Spirit lake, St. Peter's 
 
 liver, <fcc. ; September IS. 
 Euphorbia maculata^ (Linn. 7) Sandy situations, valley of the Missouri ; 
 
 June 19. 
 Euphorbia polygonifolia, (Linn. — Hook,, 1. c.) With the preceding; 
 
 June 29. 
 
 CALLITRICHACE^. 
 
 Callitriche verna, (Linn.) No label. 
 
 URTICACE^. 
 
 Urtica gracilis^ (Ait.) Banks of Spirit lake, &c. ; September SO—-/?. 
 Urtica Cauade?ins, (Linn) Woods, Jacques river; July 10—//'. 
 Parietaria Pennsylvanica, (Muhl.) Prairies, Upper Missouri ; June 6. 
 Morus rubra, (Linn.) Woods of the Missouri, near Council Bluffs; 
 May 5— /r. 
 
 ULMACE.E. 
 
 Ulmvs Americana, (Linn.) Woods of the Missouri, near Platte river; 
 April 20— /r. 
 
 AMENTACE^. 
 
 Ostrya Virginica, (Willd.) With the preceding. 
 
 Salix lorisfifolia, (Willd.) The commonest sandbar ; willow of the Up- 
 per Missouri ; May 22. 
 
 Salix (undetermined.) One of the less abundant sand-bar willows of the 
 same region ; May 22— fr. 
 
 Salix, {undeiermiued.) With the preceding ; not abundant; May 22— /r. 
 
 Quei'cus tincforia, (Barlr.) Prairies near Council Bluffs — iiofr. 
 
 Quercus rubra, (Linn.) Islands, Upper Mississippi — iiofr. 
 
 Quercus macrocarpa, (M\chx.l) Prairies of the Upper Missouri — 720 fr. 
 The principal oak of the prairie region. 
 
 Quercus rnoniana, (W^illd.) Black Snake hills, Upper Missouri — vofr. 
 
 CONIFER.E. 
 
 Juniperxis Virginica, (Linn.) Dry hills and ravines. Big Bend of the 
 Missouri ; June 4— /r. Hooker considers this plant as identical with 
 J. sabina of Europe. 
 
161 [ 237 I 
 
 CLASS II.— ENDOGENS, OR M0N0C0TYLED0N0U3 PLANTS. 
 IRIDACE.*:. 
 
 Sisyrinchiiim a?iceps, (Linn.) Moist prairies, Upper Missouri and Devil's 
 lake ; July 22— fr. S. Qimcronatnm is mixed with this plant ; but it 
 seems to differ only in the longer mucronate opatha. 
 
 ORCHIDACE^. 
 
 Peristylus bracteaius, (Lindl.) Habenaria bracteaia, (K. Br.) Prairie 
 
 groves near Council Bluffs; April 18. 
 Spiranthes ceniua, (Rich.) Boggy, elevated prairies of the Upper St. 
 
 Peter's ; August 20. 
 Spiranthes ccniua, var. latifoHa, (Torr.) Hills of Embarras river, Upper 
 
 Mississippi ; September. 
 Cypripediiua pubescens, (VVilld.) I'rairies, Upper Missouri ; May 20. 
 Cypripedium candiduni, (Muhl.) Prairie copses, Upper Missouri ; May 
 
 30. Whole plant only 6 — 10 inches high. 
 
 MELANTHACE^. 
 
 Ammianthium Nuttallii, (Gray.) Arid, argillaceous hills of the Washtey 
 
 or Shaven river, Missouri ; June 19— fr. 
 Zigadenus glaums, (Nutt.) Grassy ravines and low places in prairies, 
 
 Shayen oju river, and Upper St. Peter's; July 17. 
 
 LILIACE.E. 
 
 Co7ivallaria stellala, (Linn.) Woody ravines, Upper Missouri ; April 29. 
 Uvularia grandiflora, (Sm.) Fertile woods, bunks of the Missouri ; 
 
 May 7. 
 Allium stellatum, (Gavvl., Bot. Mag.) Moist situations in the prairies of 
 
 the Upper St. Peter's ; August 2. 
 Allium aiigulosum, (Pursh.) Hills, Upper Missouri : May 19. 
 Erythronium albidum, (Nutt.) Rocky woods, Upper Missouri ; April 6. 
 
 TRILLIACE.E. 
 
 Trillium sessile, (Willd.) Rocky woods, Upper Missouri ; April 30. 
 
 SMILACE.E. 
 
 Smilax herbacea, (Linn.) aS. lasiotieuron, (Hook., FI. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 
 173, t. 187, A.) Low, fertile woods, Council Bluffs; May 4. Only 
 staminate plants are in the collection. 
 
 Smilax roiundifoUa, (Linn. ?)— " Horse briar." On the Missouri ; com- 
 mon ; May 18. This differs from the ordinary S. rotundifolia of the 
 Northern States, in the longer and more slender priclfcles, terate 
 branches, &c. The latter has quadrangular branches, and is, doubt- 
 less, iS. quadrangularis. — (Willd.) 
 11 
 
[ 237 ] 162 
 
 JUNCAGINACE.E. 
 
 Triglochin maritimum, (Linn.) Saline sandy places in the prairies about 
 Shayen-oju river and Devil's lake ; July 17 — fl. and fr. 
 
 FLUVIALES. 
 
 Potamogeton natans. (Linn.) Ponds, Upper Missouri ; July 20— /r. 
 Potamogeion juctinatus, (Linn.) Ponds near Jacques river ; July 8. 
 Potamog€to7i granwieiis, (Lmn.l) With the preceding. Specimens im- 
 perfect. 
 
 ARACEiE. 
 
 Arum triphyllum, (Linn.) Fertile woods, Upper Missouri ; April 28. 
 Sparganium ramosum,, (Linn.) Near Jacques river ; July 6— /r. 
 
 JUNCACE^. 
 
 jhinciis hufonius, (Linn.) Muddy banks of Jacques river; July 18. 
 Juncvs tenuis, (Willd.)— (small var.) Devil's lake ; August 6— /r. 
 Juncus polt/cephalus, (Michx.) With the preceding. 
 Juncus acuminatus, (Michx.) With the preceding. 
 
 COMMELINACEiE. 
 
 Tradescantia Virginica, (Linn.) Sandy fertile places in the valley of the 
 Missouri ; June 16. 
 
 ALISMACE/B. 
 
 Alisma Geyeri, (new species.) Stemless ; leaves elliptical-lanceolate, very 
 acute, attenuate at the base; flowers hexandrous. Muddy margins of 
 ponds near Devil's lake; August 6—Jl. and fr. Plant about six inches 
 high ; leaves five nerved ; lamina 3—4 inches in length, longer than 
 the petiole ; scapes, several from one root, assurgent, shorter than the 
 leaves ; the branches verticillate ; pedicles umbellate at the summit of 
 the branches ; flowers hermaphrodite, as large as in A. plafitago; 
 sepals ovate, obtuse, concave, greenish in the middle, scarious on the 
 margin ; petals roundish, white; stamens, 6; anthers roundish ; ovaries, 
 about 15, disposed in a circle, not costate, with a very short beak. Al- 
 lied to A. tenellum, (Mart. ;) but that species differs in its linear lance- 
 olate leaves, enneandrous flowers, and costate fruit. 
 
 CYPERACEiE. 
 
 ijyperus Schweiniizii, (Torr.) Sandy plains near Devil's lake, and prai- 
 ries of the Lower St. Peter's river ; July 28. 
 
 Dulichiiim spathaceum, (Pers.) Swamps in the Sioux country; Octo- 
 ber— /r. 
 
 Scispvs atrovirens, (Muhl.) With the preceding ; July 24. 
 
 i 
 
163 [ 237 3 
 
 Scispus lactistris, (Linn.) Swamps and ponds in prairies; commoa; 
 
 July 6. 
 Scispus triqueter, (Linn.) Swamps, Devil's lake ; July 30. 
 Scispus mariiimus, (Linn.) With the preceding ; August L (Ji Torr., Mon. 
 
 N. Amer. Cyp.) Borders of rivers and ponds in the prairies about 
 
 Jacques and Shayen-oju rivers ; July 9. 
 Elocharis tenuis^ (Schulze.) Var., with the nut not verrucose ; bristles, 
 
 none. Muddy banks of Devil's lake ; August 6. 
 Elocharis pymcca^ (Torr. Mon. N. Amer. Cyp., 1. c.) Var., nut without 
 
 bristles. Borders of ponds in prairies of Jacques river ; July 9. 
 Elocharis palustris, (R. Br.) Var. (?) small, cespitose, (2 — 6 inches ;) 
 
 glumes ovate-lanceolate, rather obtuse ; bristles, (?) ; style, 3 cleft ; 
 
 nut obovate, compressed, dull ; tubercle conical, broad at the base, 
 
 rather obtuse, one-quarter the length of the nut. Devil's lake ; 
 
 August 6. 
 Carex straminea, (Willd.) Swamps, Council Bluffs ; May 14. 
 Carex arida, (Torr. and Schw.) Shady, fertile woods, Upper Missouri ; 
 
 October 20— /r. 
 Carex Sartwellii, (Dew., in Sill. Jour. 43, p. 90, t. cc, f. 95.) Swamps ia 
 
 prairies. Council Bluffs, May 22. Near C. intermedia. This species 
 
 is common in the western part of the State of New York ; it is also 
 
 found in Indiana. 
 Carex cespitosa, (Linn.) With the preceding ; May 7. 
 Carex lanuginosa, (Michx.) C. pellita, (Muhl.) Sandy banks of the 
 
 Missouri ; May 26. 
 
 Tar. minor. Heads short ; few flowered ; with the 
 preceding. 
 Carex granularis, (Schlz.) Valley of Shayen-oju river; July 17. 
 Carex PennsylvaTiica, (Lam.) Prairies, Council Bluffs ; May 16. 
 Carex lofigirostris, (Torr.) Shady woods, Upper Missouri ; June 10. 
 Carex lacustris, (Willd.) Prairies, Council Bluffs ; May 20 — July 6. 
 Carex Houghto?iii, (Torr.) With the preceding ; May 7. 
 
 GRAMINEiE. 
 
 Alopecurus geniculatus, ^ arislulatus, (Torr.) Borders of swamps ia 
 prairies ; July 6. 
 
 Panicum virgatum, (Linn.) Abundant on all the high prairies, but no- 
 where so luxuriant as near the Upper Des Moines river and Spirit 
 lake ; July 13. 
 
 Panicum capillare, (Linn.) Sandy plains, Shayen oju river ; July 26. 
 
 Stipa membranacea, (Pursh.) Eriocoma cuspidata, (Nutt.) Sandy banks 
 of the Shayen river, Missouri ; June 19. 
 
 Stipa sparti, (Trin.) S. parvijlora, (Nutt., not of Desf.) No ticket with 
 the specimens. 
 
 Stipa jiincea, (PiiTshy'iSuit.) S. cap illata, [Linn. — Hook.?) High and 
 dry prairies between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers ; July 14. 
 
 Urachne parvijlora, (Trin.) Agrostis miliacea, (Linn.?) Differs in its 
 more hyaline, and less distinctly 3-nerved glumes ; but in .other re- 
 spects does not differ from the European plant. It is here noticed, for 
 the first time, as a native of North America. Dry hills at the upper 
 end of the Grand Detour, or the "Great Bend" of the Missouri. 
 
[ 237 ] 164 
 
 Mvhletibergia glomeraia, (Trin.) Prairie?, Upper Missouri ; July 13. 
 Miihletihngia ambigva, (new species) Panicle dense, opiciform; glumes 
 rather unequal, (the inferior one shorter;) linear lanceolate, very acute, 
 I — 2 flowered ; very hairy at the base; superior valve, with a bristle 
 at the lip equalling it in length, a little shorter than the glumes, (ex- 
 clusive of the awns;) superior floret, either perfect, and then resem- 
 blitig the inferior or rudimentary and aristiform. Stony banks of 
 Okaman lake, Sioux country, September 20. Culms cespitose, about 
 1^ foot high, glabrous; leaves broadly linear; stipules very short, 
 truncate and lacerate; panicle 4 — 6 inches long; purplish; glumes 
 tapering to a very acute cuspidate point, with a strong green midrib ; 
 perianth clothed at the base with whitish hairs, which are nearly half 
 as long as the valves ; valves nearly equal ; awn a little tortuous, 
 sometimes longer than the valve ; superior floret often perfect, and 
 maturing its fruit ; when rudimentary, consisting of a mere awn, with- 
 out any valve. A remarkable species, with the habit of M. glomeraia 
 and M. Mexicana. 
 
 Vilfa cuspidata, (Torr., in Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer. 2, p. 238 ) Hills of the 
 Missouri, near White river, and about Devil's lake; June IG— July 20. 
 
 Vilfa heterolepis, (Gray, in Ann. Lye, New York, 4, p. 233.) Banks of 
 Shaven river ; August 12. 
 
 Agrostis Michavxii, (Trin.) Prairies between Jacques and Shayen rivers; 
 abundant ; July 6. 
 
 Agrostis crypiandra^ (Torr., in Ann. Lye. New York, 1, p. 151.) Banks 
 of Spirit lake, Little Sioux river, &c. ; September 30. 
 
 Caiamagrostis stricia, (Null.) Dry swamps in the prairie of Shayen 
 river ; July 26. 
 
 Caiamagrostis longifolia, (Hook., Fl. Bor. Amer., 2, p. 241.) Sandy plains 
 and dry swamps, Jacques river ; July 3. 
 
 Arundo phrag mites, (Linn.) Common in all wet prairies and swamps be- 
 tween the Missouri and Mississippi rivers ; July 26. 
 
 Spartina cynosiiroides, (Willd.) Common in wet prairies ; July 26. 
 
 Aristida pollens, (Nutt.) Arid situations, Upper Missouri ; July 4 — 24. 
 
 Poa airoides, (Nutt.) Saline borders of Devil's lake ; abundant ; August 1. 
 
 Poa nemoralis, (Linn.) Shady woods and ravines, on the Missouri ; June 6. 
 
 Poa crocato, (Michx.) Prairies of Devil's lake, &.c.; July 18. 
 
 Poa eragrosiis, (Linn.) Sandy plains, valley of the Shayenoju river ; 
 July 27. 
 
 Catabrosa aqnatica., (P. de Beau v.) Swamps, Devil's lake ; July 31. 
 
 Koileria cristaia, (Pers.) High sandy prairies on the Missouri and Upper 
 St. Peter's rivers ; July 12. 
 
 Festuca tenella, (Willd.) Valley of the Upper Missouri ; June 20. 
 
 Br omiis purgans, (Linn.) Borders of woods ; July 26. 
 
 Glyceria aquafica, (Smith, Trin.) Swamps about Devil's lake ; July 30. 
 
 Glycerin nervata, (Trin. in Act. Petrop., 6. sec. 1, p. 365.) J^oa nervata, 
 (Willd.) With the preceding. 
 
 Glyceria Jluitans, (R. Br.) With the preceding. 
 
 Vniola stricta, (Torr. in Ann. Lye. New York, 1, p. 55.) Brizopyrum 
 spicatu7n, (Hook., and Am. Bot. Beech, p. 403, and Hook Fl. Bor. 
 Amer., 2, p. 254, in part?) Hills of the Upper Missouri, June 1. I can 
 hardly agree with my friend, Sir William Hooker, in regarding this 
 plant as a form of the ordinary U. sjiicata, so common on the Atlan- 
 tic coast of the United States. 
 
165 [ 237 ] 
 
 Tiitkum repetis, (Linn.) Grassy banks of Jacques river, &,c.; July 18. 
 
 Triiicum cmiinum^ (Linn.) Prairies between James (Jacques) and Red 
 rivers ; July 23, 
 
 Elymus Canadensis, (Linn.) Borders of woods, Devil's lake ; August 3. 
 
 Elymiis. (or a new genus between elymus and hordeum.) Spikelets, two 
 at each joint of the rachis ; one of which is 2, the other 3 — 4 flowered; 
 involucre of 4 — 5 long setaceous glumes, which are entire ; or, more 
 commonly, very unequally 2-parted, (rather of 2 glumes united at the 
 base.) Perianth 2 valved ; valves lanceolate, scabrous ; inferior 
 3 awned at the summit ; the lateral awns ^— | the length of the 
 valve ; middle one very slender — six times the length of the valve ; 
 superior valve with 2 short awns at the summit ; culm about 15 
 inches high. Heavy ferruginous loam on the Missouri, Jacques, and 
 Shayen oju rivers; June 10. 
 
 Atheropogon aphidoides. (Muhl. — Torr. Fl., 1., p. 139.) Prairies of the 
 Upper Mississippi, Devil's lake, (fee; July 2. 
 
 Atheropogon oligostachyum, (Nutt. — Torr. in Sill. Jour., 4, p. 58.) High 
 prairies of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers ; June 2G. 
 
 Sesleria dactyloides, (Nutt.) Hills and valleys of the Missouri; June 6. 
 
 Leyiurus paniculattis, (Nutt.) Heavy ferruginous soil, valley of the Up- 
 per Missouri ; June 18. 
 
 Crypsis squarrosa, (Nutt.) Sandy situations in the valley of the Missouri, 
 about Fort Pierre ; June 28. 
 
 Beckmannia cruciformis, (Jacq.) Prairie swamps, near Jacques river; 
 July 6. 
 
 Andropogo7i fnrcaius, (Muhl.) Swamps in prairies ; July 6. 
 
 AndropogoJi scoparius, {blichx.) High prairies between the Missouri and 
 Mississippi rivers; July 12. 
 
 FILICES. 
 
 Slrulhiopteris Gerwjamca, (Willd.) Low woods on the Mankato river ; 
 
 abundant ; September 20. 
 Polypodium vidgare, (Linn.) Rocks, Upper Mississippi ; October 18. 
 Asplenium rhizophyllmn. (Linn.) With the preceding. 
 
 MARSILIACEiE. 
 
 Marsilca vestita, (Hook, and Grev., i. c. fil. t. 159.) Dry swamps in the 
 prairies near Devil's lake ; June 24. 
 
 EQUISETACE^. 
 
 Equisetum hyemale. (Linn.) Low woods, banks of the Missouri and 
 Upper Mississippi, May 21. Very large specimens, broken oflf at the 
 top, and bearing a pair of small heads of fructification at two of the 
 upper joints. 
 
 In the collection of Mr. Geyer, there were a very few specimens belong, 
 ing to the lower orders of the cryptogamia, which I have not determined. 
 They belong to the genera hypurea agaricus, (three or four species,) 
 hydrum, boletus, phellus, and chara. 
 
1 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 List of Fossils belonging to the several formations alluded to in the report; 
 arranged according to localities. 
 
 [Note. — This list is not given as exhibiting all the fossils, nor even the 
 most characteristic ones, that are found in the localities named. They were 
 collected in the midst of other occupations, and are gathered together under 
 one head, for the facility of reference, and as probably embracing more^than 
 have been brought together anywhere else.] 
 
 ST. LOUIS, (mo.,) and ALTON, (iLL.) 
 
 Atrypa lingidata, (new.) Subfusiform ; valves nearly equally convex ; in- 
 ferior valve with a longitudinal sinus ; base projecting in the middle, 
 the margin of the projection truncated. St. Louis, and also the^bluff 
 beneath Rockwell, Illinois. 
 
 Delthyris, (new.) ] 
 
 Cypricardites, (new.) I Limestone upon which St. Louis stands, to 
 
 Echinoder^nata^ spines of. j the water-edge. 
 
 Retepora, (undetermined.) J 
 
 COAL FORMATION IN THE VICINITY OF ST. LOUIS. 
 
 Producta lohata. Riviere des Peres ; Charboniere. 
 
 Turbinolia fungites. 
 
 Delthi/ris, (new.) 
 
 Pholadomya elongata, (Morton.) 
 
 Crinoideoe, several species. 
 
 ST. GENEVIEVE, (gABOURI CREEK.) 
 
 Bellerophon hiulcus; converted into red chalcedony. 
 Producta [hemispherica ? Sowerby.) 
 Turbinolia fungites. 
 
 Generally, the same fossils as those of the St. Louis limestone, but 
 mineralized into chalcedony. 
 
 DES MOINES RIVER, ABOUT RACOON FORE. 
 
 Producta punctata, (Sowerby,) and two new species. 
 Producta (undetermined) — large species. 
 Producta Margaritana, (Phillips.) 
 Turbinolia fungites. 
 
[ 237 ] 168 
 
 RAPIDS OF THE DES MOINES. 
 
 Delthyi'is duplicostata, {Spirijera duplicosiata of Phillips.) 
 Delthyris bisulkata, (Sow.) — allied to spirifera. 
 Delthyris spirifera^ {semicircularis (?) Phillips.) 
 
 , (two new species.) 
 
 Froducla punctata^ (Sowerby.) 
 
 . , (two new species.) 
 
 Crinoidece. 
 Turhinolia fuiigites. 
 
 BURLINGTON BLUFF, IOWA. 
 
 Delthyris; large species, allied to spirifer bisulcata, and the same as that of 
 
 the " Rapids Des Moines." 
 Delthyris, (undetermined fragment.) 
 Producta hef7iispherica (?) — (Sowerby.) 
 Orthis; small, unknown species. 
 Strophomena ; impressions of a small species. 
 Crinoidece, (undetermined.) 
 
 MINERAL REGION OF WISCONSIN TERRITORY — GALENA AND ITS VICINITY. 
 
 Blue limestone y (Dr. Owen and Dr. Locke.) 
 
 Trilobites : — 
 
 A^^nliils U\l\v 1 Trenton limestone, New York, 
 
 CeZurns pleurexanihemus, (Green.) corresponding with the lower 
 Portion of an isotelus gigas) ^ P^.^ f '^^ caradoc-perhaps 
 
 Calymene spinifera, (Conrad.) J ^"*^ '*'^^^* 
 
 Shells. 
 
 Strophomena^ (new.) 
 Strophomena sericea, (Sowerby.) 
 
 g^/'^XL*™'" ''' ( Same of .he Trenton Umes.one, Ne. York. 
 
 Orthis callactis. 
 
 Cypricardltes^ (new.) 
 
 Trochus lenticular is ^ (Sowerby.) Murch. Sil. Syst. 
 
 Pleurotomaria. 
 
 Bellerophon bilobatus. 
 
 Orthoceras, (one species, large.) 
 
 Cliff limestone. 
 
 Jllcenns, (new.) Same species as in the Trenton limestone. 
 
 Strophomena delthoidea. 
 
 ACrypa,{ne'w species.) 
 
 Lingula, (new.) Same with a Trenton limestone species. 
 
 Enomphalus, (new.) 
 
 Orihoceras; fragment, (undetermined.) 
 
 .ill 
 
169 [ 237 1 
 
 Corals. 
 
 Cyathophyllum ceratites (?). 
 Turbinolopsis, (new.) 
 JPavorites, (new.) 
 Portion of an asterea (?). 
 
 ST. Peter's and falls op 3t. anthont. 
 
 Strophomcna, allied to ^X alternata. 
 
 Sirojj/iomena, (new species.) 
 
 Orlhis tcsludinaria? (Murch. Sil. Sys., pi. 20, fig. 10.) 
 
 Or this poly gramnal (Murch. Sil. Sys., pi. 21, fig. 4.) 
 
 Orthis, (three new species.) 
 
 Stenoscisma, resembling terebratula Schoitheimii, (Dalman.) 
 
 Atrypa, (new species.) 
 
 Pleurotomaria, (new species — numerous.) 
 
 JEuomjjhalus, allied to Maclurites magna, (Des.) 
 
 Ettomphalus, resembling E. sculptus, (Sowerby.) 
 
 Phragmolites, same as the Trenton limestone, N. Y. 
 
 Phragmolites, (new species.) 
 
 Bellerophon bilohatus. 
 
 Orthoceras, (two species, undetermined.) 
 
 Crinoidal remains of peculiar forms ; one resembling lipocrinites. 
 
 Turbinolopsis bina 7 (Silur. Syst., pi. 16 bis, fig. 5.) 
 
 Favorites lycopodon, (Say.) Trenton limestone fossil. 
 
 Favorites, (two new species.) 
 
 Fucoides, (obscure.) 
 
 Oyathophyllum ceratites 7 
 
 Turritella. 
 
 FIVE-BARREL ISLANDS, ON THE MISSOURI. 
 
 Pholadomya elongata, (Morton.) Found in the rubbish. 
 
 Producia lobata. 
 
 Fuomphalus, in the blue slaty limestone. 
 
 Cyathopliyllum vermiculare, of Goldfuss. 
 
 Crinoidece, remains of. 
 
 FOSSILS OF THE CRETACEOUS FORMATION. 
 
 On the Missouri river. 
 
 Inoceramus barabini 7 (Morton.) 
 &al€S of a fish. 
 
 In the calcareous marl. 
 
 Orbictila, imperfect specimen. 
 Ostrea congesta, (Conrad.)* 
 
 d's description of the ostrea congesfn: Elongated; upper ralre flat: lower ralfe 
 , irregralar; the umbo truncated by a mark of adhesion; resembles a little g^ghe*^ 
 Morton. 
 
 ♦ Conrad 
 »entricose^ 
 vnter of Morton, 
 
 13 
 
[ 237 ] 170 
 
 Ammonites placenta, (De Kay.) Very large ; found also in New Jersey. 
 
 Ammonites Mandanensis, (Morton.) 
 
 Ammonites Nicolletii, (Morton.) 
 
 Ammofiites abysshins, (Morton.) 
 
 Aminonites Conradi, (Morton.) Also found in Alabama. 
 
 Baculites ovatus, (Say.) Also found in Alabama. 
 
 Bacidites compressus, the same species flattened, 
 
 Belemnites mucronatus; found in New Jersey and Alabama, and also oc- 
 curs in the chalk of England. 
 
 Hipfomjx horealisi (Morton.) 
 
 Avictda cretacea, (Conrad.)* 
 
 Cyllierea Missouriana, (Morton.) 
 
 I'elli7ia occidentalism (Morton.) 
 
 Ostrua vesicularis, (Lamarck.) 
 
 Anomia tellinoides, (Morton.) 
 
 Jnoceramus harahini, (Morton.) Occurring in great numbers, and of un- 
 usually large size ; most frequently compressed. This species ap- 
 proaches 1. Crispii of Mantell, figured in his Geology of Sussex, and 
 characterizes the formation. 
 
 VERTEBRATED ANIMALS. 
 
 Two vertebrca of a species of squalus. 
 
 Three vertebrce of a nondescript crocodile. 
 
 Two vertebrce continuous of an animal belonging to the order of enalis 
 saiirus of Conybeare, The specimens are completely rpineralized, 
 the organized structure being entirely replaced by crystallized carbonate 
 of lime. From the size of the specimens, and their other characters, 
 it is quite probable that these vertebra? form a part of the skeleton of 
 the saurocephalus lanciformis, (Harlan.) Vide Medical and Physical 
 Researches, pp. 362 and 386. These specimens are considerably dis- 
 torted by pressure, and similar ones have been found in the green sand 
 of New Jersey, and in the chalk formation of England. 
 
 ♦ This is a fragment of a cast, but sufficiently distinct to entitle it to a specific appellation. 
 It is remarkable for the perfectly rectilinear front^margin, so far as it appears on the iragmenl. 
 
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